Several drivers penalised following Monza Qualifying

Following the conclusion of Friday’s FIA Formula 2 Qualifying in Monza, several drivers have been handed penalties.

Firstly, Gabriele Minì has been given a three-place grid penalty for impeding.

Minì was summoned to the stewards after allegedly impeding AIX Racing driver Cian Shields during the session.

After hearing from both drivers, along with their respective team representatives, the Stewards determined that Minì had unnecessarily impeded Shields between Turns 9 to 11, breaching Article 31.6 of the FIA Formula 2 Sporting Regulations.

As a result, they elected to hand Minì a three-place grid penalty for both the Sprint and Feature Race.

Secondly, Mari Boya has a three-place grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly.

The Stewards examined the available data and spoke to both the driver and a PREMA Racing team representative and found that the driver of Car 12 had slowed significantly on the exit of Turn 10 and began warming its tyres.

The Stewards found that Boya had dropped to an excessively low speed without a valid sporting or safety justification, with the sole purpose of this action being to seek a sporting advantage.

By doing so, Car 12 contributed to the formation of a queue of cars travelling at a very low speed, and this led to incidents involving multiple cars approaching Turn 11.

As a result, they elected to hand Boya a three-place grid penalty for both Monza races.

In addition to that, DAMS Lucas Oil’s Dino Beganovic, Campos Racing’s Noel León, PREMA Racing’s Sebastián Montoya and ART Grand Prix driver Kush Maini have been handed three-place grid penalties for their part in the incident on the approach to Turn 11 towards the end of Qualifying.

The Stewards examined the available data and spoke to all drivers and their team representatives before determining that these four drivers had failed to follow the Race Director Competition Notes, Item 18 Practice and Qualifying Etiquette.

This states that the “drivers not on a fast lap must make all efforts to keep off the racing line’ and “at no point during Practice/Qualifying should drivers remain side-by-side”.

The Stewards found these drivers, while on a preparation lap, drove slowly in the middle of the track between Turn 10 and Turn 11, and remained side-by-side with another car which was not on the racing line.

As a result, Beganovic, Montoya, Maini and León have been given three-place grid penalties to be served in both Monza races.

Lastly, Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov has been given a three-place grid penalty for weaving in an erratic manner, close to Car 11 of Sebastián Montoya.

The Stewards examined video evidence and spoke to both drivers and a team representative.

Having considered the matter extensively, they determined that Car 6 was driving erratically by warming its tyres on the racing line, while not travelling at racing speed.

As a result, Montoya was forced to take avoiding action and leave the track. The Stewards therefore imposed a three-place grid penalty on Tsolov to be served in both Monza races.