Carlos Sainz was shown a single waved yellow flag as he approached the start/finish line at the end of his final flying lap in Q3 for the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, due to Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri which was stopped beside the pit wall. Such an incidence requires a driver to slow down significantly and be prepared to stop: the Spanish did in fact slow down and therefore was able to avoid a grid penalty.
Telemetry helped Carlos prove that he reduced his speed in the relevant mini sectors. The Spanish driver will start the race from P5.
At the same time Max Verstappen has been given a five-place grid penalty for today’s race for failing to slow sufficiently for double waved yellow flags, while Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who passed single waved yellow warning flags, was also given a three-place penalty. Bottas admitted he did not notice the yellow flag.
The decision, made just 90 minutes before the start of the Doha race, means Hamilton will start on pole position ahead of Gasly and Fernando Alonso, mixing up the order for the race.
New Qatar GP top-10 starting grid for race
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
3) Fernando Alonso, Alpine
4) Lando Norris, McLaren
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
6) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
7) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
8) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
9) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
10) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
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