Aston Martin fined for a mistake during the qualifying session of the Spanish GP

FIA have fined Aston Martin F1 team for a pit-lane release mistake ahead of the main race on Sunday

Aston Martin has problems dealing with both on and off the track at the Spanish. The team had an underwhelming qualifying session and their drivers – Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll are set to start from 16th and 18th positions on the starting grid, respectively.

Now, the team has been fined €5,000 after an unsafe pit-lane release of Lance Stroll in qualifying.

Stroll was let out into the path of Lando Norris during Q1 and, after hearing from both the drivers and examining video evidence, the FIA have whacked the team with a penalty fine.

A steward report on the incident stated – “The stewards heard from the driver of car 18 (Lance Stroll), the driver of car 4 (Lando Norris) and team representatives and examined the video.The team manager of car 18 admitted that, in error, the team released car 18 into the path of car 4 creating an unsafe release.”

What does the starting Grid for the Spanish GP look like?

Charles Leclerc took pole position in qualifying and is set to start from the first position followed by championship rival Max Verstappen and local favourite Carlos Sainz in second and third spots. Defending champion, Lewis Hamilton will start from the sixth place while home-favourite Fernando Alonso had a poor qualifying and will start from the 17th position in the grid.

Where do things stand ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix?

Ferrari enjoys a lead on top of both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. Charles Leclerc leads the drivers with 104 points while a third race win of the season means Max Verstappen has reduced the gap and occupies second place with 85 points followed by his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in third place with 66 points.

In the constructors’ championship, Ferrari’s comfortable lead at the top has been reduced drastically by Red Bull. Ferrari leads the table with 157 points but Red Bull is just six points behind them on 151. There is a fair amount of gap between the top 2 teams and the rest of the grid with Mercedes occupying third place having earned 95 points.

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