Gabriel Bortoletto has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the next Formula 1 race after his accident at the start of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Sauber driver lost control at Turn 1 and collided with Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll.
The incident led to both him and the Canadian retiring. At the same time, the Aston Martin car touched that of Pierre Gasly, causing the Frenchman to lose control and several places.
Stewards’ decision
After examining the incident, the FIA stewards ruled that Bortoletto was fully responsible for the collision. In their official decision, they stated, among other things:
“The driver of car 5 braked extremely slowly and as a result collided with car 18. Although this was an incident on lap 1, there are no mitigating factors and the standard 10-second penalty would have applied; however, as car 5 retired, the penalty is converted into a grid drop for the next race in accordance with our rules.”
In addition, the Brazilian was given two penalty points on his racing license. These were the first of his F1 career.
Sauber satisfied with Las Vegas
Despite his second consecutive retirement on the first lap of a GP, the Brazilian’s team-mate Nico Hulkenberg finished 7th after the McLaren drivers were eliminated, securing two valuable points for Sauber.
This kept the team in the fight for 6th place in the constructors’ championship.
