Two drivers have seen their starting positions for the Singapore Grand Prix change after it was confirmed that they had made changes to their cars under parc ferme conditions. Such an action triggers an automatic pit lane start and two drivers have suffered that fate ahead of the Marina Bay Circuit race.
It comes after Williams saw both their drivers disqualified because their cars failed post-qualifying checks. Alex Albon was 12th fastest and was due to start one place ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz, but both were stripped of those results when checks on their DRS systems found they were non-compliant with the rules.
And now, it has been confirmed that Albon has picked up a fresh penalty because changes have been made to the suspension of his car ahead of the Grand Prix. And Pierre Gasly will join him in starting from the pit lane after his Alpine team chose to alter not only the suspension on his car, but to also fit a new floor of a different specification.
The stewards have confirmed that, as a result of those actions, both drivers will be required to start the race from the pit lane. Albon had been due to start from the back anyway, because of his disqualification, while Gasly had qualified 20th and last on the road and would have only been starting ahead of the two Williams cars.
Sainz has not had any changes made to his Williams and so he will not need to start from the pit lane. He will be allowed to begin the Grand Prix from the very back of the grid after the stewards granted his team’s request for both the Spaniard and his team-mate Albon to take part in the race despite not having set a valid time under F1’s ‘107% rule’.
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