Two F1 drivers handed reprimands after Spa sprint qualifying infringements

George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda have been handed reprimands following a stewards' investigation at the Belgian Grand Prix. During the sprint qualifying session, both were alleged to have breached the sporting regulations and failed to comply with the race director's instructions by driving too slowly. Russell endured a difficult session and ended the day in 13th place, while team-mate Kimi Antonelli failed to advance out of the first segment. Tsunoda also dropped out during SQ2, finishing one position ahead of Russell in 12th. In Russell's ruling, the stewards highlighted that Russell “stated that he misjudged the distance from the cars in front and thought that they would allow a bigger gap back to him in the final sector, and accordingly he reduced speed to gain a gap which resulted in him exceeding the maximum time”. In Tsunoda's case, which occurred one minute before Russell at the end of SQ1, the Japanese driver “thought he would 'make the time' but in this case he did not”. Any driver who is handed five reprimands in a season is handed an automatic 10-place grid penalty. Russell now has one reprimand to his name, while Tsunoda has two.