Mazepin handed grid drop for Round 12

Nikita Mazepin has received a large number of grid drops following a collision in today’s Sprint Race at the Sochi Autodrom. The incident started when Mazepin forced Jack Aitken off the track at Turn 2. The Campos Racing driver successfully negotiated the Styrofoam blocks in the runoff area, as directed by the Race Director’s notes, but Mazepin did not follow the same path and instead took a short cut, which resulted in a collision with both Aitken and Nobuharu Matsushita. Both Mazepin and Matsushita retired, which brought out a red flag.

The ART Grand Prix driver was found to be at fault for the accident because, in the opinion of the stewards, he showed a total lack of due care for his fellow drivers and caused a bad incident, which could have been much worse. As a consequence, Mazepin has been handed a 15-place grid drop for the final round of the Formula 2 season, at Yas Marina.