Pierre Gasly’s outstanding performance during the qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix has left fans on the edge of their seats. However, his remarkable achievement now faces a major stewards’ penalties for an incident involving Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen during Q1 at the Montmeló circuit.

Gasly, who drives for Alpine, initially impeded Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz before causing a similar disruption to the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. The incidents also prompted a lighthearted radio exchange between Fernando Alonso and the stewards, with the Spanish driver advocating for penalties for whoever replaced him on the French team.

After the Qualifying Gasly expressed his concerns, saying, “I hope I don’t get penalized, also because with 4th place we can do a lot tomorrow. In the end, I tried to do my best with the information I had at the time,” in an interview with Sky Sports F1. He admitted that he hadn’t seen replays of the incidents but emphasized that they were unintentional.

Fans show wholesome support for Gasly on Twitter

Although he’s starting from 10th today, after a 6-place grid penalty, fans have been with him throughout with words of motivation for the main race. Gasly later took to Twitter to share his thoughts, tweeting, “4th in Qualifying. 10th on the grid tomorrow. Bring on tomorrow.” Here are some reactions from the fans.

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The consequences for Gasly have proven to be substantial following the chaotic qualifying session at Montmeló, which witnessed dozens of surprise elements.

Gasly cannot afford any more penalties now!

With two penalty points dropped from his record in May, Gasly now stands at a total of eight points, still the highest among all drivers on the starting grid. The accumulation of 12 points within a 12-month period would trigger an automatic suspension for the driver.

The two penalty points that were revoked were initially incurred by Gasly while driving for AlphaTauri during the Spanish Grand Prix on May 22 last year, when he collided with Lance Stroll of Aston Martin. The cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last Sunday spared Gasly from the possibility of accumulating more points before the Spanish incident’s expiration.

This season, Formula 1 stewards have implemented a revised approach to penalty points, focusing on instances of unsafe driving rather than breaches of the sporting rules such as exceeding track limits. Gasly’s ten penalty points prior to the reduction consisted of four for collisions, two for exceeding speed after red flags, two for falling too far behind the safety car, and the remaining two for repeatedly exceeding track limits and gaining an advantage by going off. As numbers suggest, Gasly can’t afford any more mistakes. He’ll have to be on his toes from now on.

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The potential impact on his starting grid position adds an extra layer of excitement and uncertainty to the Spanish Grand Prix, leaving fans eagerly awaiting the outcome of the stewards’ decision.