Nikita Mazepin has been given a three place grid penalty for the Spanish GP, meaning he'll start the race from 20th place, having already qualified in last position. The Haas driver was found to have blocked Lando Norris in Q1, with the incident coming under investigation after the McLaren driver encountered the Russian loitering around the chicane while Norris was on a flying lap. Mazepin was also given a penalty point to go along with the point he was given at the Portuguese GP for failing to yield to blue flags. "During the Qualifying 1 session, Mazepin was setting up for a fast lap," read the stewards' decision document. "As he approached Turns 10 and 11, Mazepin was informed that Norris was closing on a fast lap behind him and was informed of the closing gap all the way through to the incident. "Mazepin then slowed to maintain the gap to Schumacher ahead of him with both setting up for their fast laps. Between Turn 13 and 14, Raikkonen and Tsunoda, who were coming into the pits, jumped ahead of Mazepin. Both cars had also been informed of the fast closing Norris, and it is clear that they did this to get out of Norris’ way. However, this created a difficult situation for Mazepin. "The Stewards determined that having been clearly informed of Norris’ whereabouts, Mazepin’s decision to pull out and re-pass Raikkonen and Tsunoda clearly impeded Norris, who lost significant time. "The Stewards recognize that this sequence of corners creates a special challenge to the drivers in qualifying and that Mazepin was faced with a difficult situation. This was also pointed out by Norris in the hearing. However, had Mazepin waited for Norris to pass, he could have pulled out and followed Norris and the Stewards determined this opportunity was available to him without significantly compromising his next lap."
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