Pierre Gasly believes Carlos Sainz "should be banned" after a near-miss in Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying. Approaching the end of his last flying lap in drying conditions in Q1, Gasly came across a slow-moving Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda who were backing up to start quick laps. As Tsunoda and Sainz were in the way of the apex, Gasly was forced to take to the escape road at Turn 13 - and was subsequently knocked out of the session in P17. Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer called the blocking "ridiculous" and pointed out Gasly would have set the sixth fastest lap on the aborted attempt. Reacting immediately over the radio, Gasly exclaimed Sainz: "should be banned for such a thing! I'm coming at 300kph!" Sainz, who earlier escaped a trip to the stewards for impeding Alex Albon in final practice in a similar move, was hauled again in front of the stewards as one of a clutch of drivers.
Gasly furious at Sainz
"It is completely unacceptable to be driving the way Carlos did," Gasly told media including RacingNews365. "It is as simple as that, I am coming at 300kph, and he's sitting at 30kph in the last chicane, just focusing on his own lap, but you are not alone on the race track. "I could not even close my lap, and it would have put us in the top six quite easily. It was extremely dangerous, and it was just unnecessary, so I am absolutely gutted. "[I am] definitely [expecting a significant penalty] but it's not even what I care about, because the damage has been done, because I'm sitting here in P17 when we have the car and pace to be in the top 10, and even top six in these conditions. "So whatever they decide will damage him, but it's not going to give it back - it's not going to give us back the Qualifying we should have had." Last time out in Spain, Gasly was handed two three-place penalties for impeding Sainz and Verstappen in Q1 - but both drivers were able to advance through the segment - something the Frenchman highlighted. "Obviously, I was in the opposite situation the other day," he said. "But the guys finished P1 and P2 and didn't have an impact on Sunday, now I'm sitting here and am P17. "It ruined my Qualifying and will impact my race a lot - so it is just not acceptable."
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