“He Should Get a Penalty for That”: What Happened Between Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly During Spanish GP Qualifying?

Carlos Sainz had a nervy moment with Pierre Gasly during the first part of the Spanish GP qualifying on Saturday. The Spaniard was left fuming after the Frenchman seemingly blocked him as he was approaching the start-finish line.

Gasly had initially let Charles Leclerc through but did not realize that a fast-coming Sainz was just behind the Monegasque. Since Sainz was forced to take evasive action due to Gasly failing to let him through, the Frenchman is in danger of getting a penalty. Sainz too made it clear that he believes Gasly deserves a penalty for this incident.

What did Carlos Sainz say about his incident with Pierre Gasly?

While speaking to his race engineer on the team radio about his scary moment with Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz said, “He should get a penalty for that. I had to lift in a high-speed corner“. Following the incident, the stewards said that they will have a look at it.

#FQ1 Sainz en vuelta rápida y Gasly ingresa a línea será sancionado. De Vries se despista. #SpanishGP #F12023 #F1 pic.twitter.com/vJ4xhysqCr

— Isaac Alvarez (@AbrahamIAlvarez) June 3, 2023

Considering that Charles Leclerc received a penalty for a similar incident at Monaco last week, Gasly is in real danger of getting one as well. The Monegasque got a three-place grid penalty for impeding McLaren’s Lando Norris during qualifying.

Gasly’s moments on track just did not end there as he seemingly also impeded Max Verstappen at turn four. The stewards have also noted this incident, which means that the Frenchman could be in real trouble. If the precedent from Monaco is followed, the Alpine driver could potentially get a six-place grid penalty.

Alonso hilariously brings the incident between Verstappen and Gasly to the stewards’ notice

While it remains to be seen whether Pierre Gasly will receive a penalty or not, what was incredibly funny was that Fernando Alonso brought the incident between the Frenchman and Max Verstappen to the notice of the stewards.

After watching the incident, Alonso said on the team radio, “Big impending on the Alpine on the outlap to Verstappen. Massive one. I mean, into turn 4. That will be 3 places“. Alonso has previously joked of wanting to be a F1 steward after he retires, and his hilarious comments on the team radio may just be preparing him for that.