2022 F1 Brazilian GP Sprint: Alonso, Stroll face penalties as Hamilton, Gasly escape action

The 2022 F1 Brazilian GP Sprint turned out to be an action-packed race. So much so that the action of the sprint race will spill over into consequences for a few drivers into the main race on Sunday.

After the sprint race was over, the F1 stewards had their work cut out as multiple drivers were under investigation. Some drivers were served with penalties while others escaped action. Let's take a look at the results of the post-race investigation of the drivers.

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#1 Lewis Hamilton, Zhou Guanyu, and Daniel Ricciardo (F1 race start violation)

All three of these drivers were investigated for a race start violation and escaped without any action as the stewards noted that the start boxes for the races were slightly smaller than usual and no driver gained any advantage from it.

A statement from the stewards read:

"The stewards reviewed the start sequence, as it was observed that multiple cars were potentially out of their grid box in violation of Article 8.6.1.a) of the FIA International Sporting Code, being either to the left or right of the grid box."

"Having reviewed all available angles of video, and making measurements on the grid, the stewards noted that the grid boxes were slightly smaller than usual and that the drivers’ visibility makes compliance extremely difficult and that no driver was in a position that gained any advantage. The stewards are therefore satisfied to take no further action."

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#2 Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll was handed a 10-second post-race penalty and three penalty points for dangerous driving.

The Canadian driver, while defending his position against Sebastian Vettel, pushed the German off the track and onto the grass. The stewards handed Stroll three F1 penalty points to add to the 10-second penalty. A statement issued by the stewards said:

"The stewards viewed video evidence and determined that Car 18 driven by Stroll deliberately drove to the left after Turn 3, driving car 5 off the road in a dangerous manner."

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#3 Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly was also summoned to the stewards after the race for driving too slowly on his reconnaissance lap.

The French driver was on the verge of getting as many as 10 F1 penalty points to his name. Fortunately for Gasly, no action was taken against him by the stewards.

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#4 Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso received a 5-second penalty and two penalty points for his collision with teammate Esteban Ocon.

On the first lap of the sprint race, Alonso damaged his front wing while trying to overtake his teammate. The incident led to Alonso being forced to pit to change his front wing while Ocon's race was compromised as he had to drive the rest of the race with a broken car.

The F1 stewards saw the video evidence and Alonso was deemed responsible for dangerous driving and was penalized accordingly.