Lance Stroll has been handed a three-place grid penalty after being found to be at fault for his collision with Nicholas Latifi during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. The Aston Martin driver had just joined the circuit in Q1 of the session and was preparing for a flying lap when he encountered Williams rival Latifi ahead of him. Latifi moved to allow Stroll through but, with Stroll not on a flying lap, Latifi accelerated again to overtake his fellow Canadian by pulling to the right-hand side of the track heading towards Turn 6. Stroll then looked to be trying to let other cars pass him, but turned in towards Latifi as the latter was accelerating. The two cars crashed, resulting in the qualifying hour being red-flagged.
Stroll receives grid drop and penalty points
The stewards investigated the incident after the session had come to a close, and confirmed that Stroll will receive a grid penalty after being deemed to have caused the collision. A document released by the FIA says that the Aston Martin driver was "predominantly to blame for the collision because of his lack of situational awareness of Latifi's passing manoeuvre." As a result, Stroll will take a three-place grid drop, and has also been handed two penalty points, bringing his total up to seven accumulated over a 12-month period. Any driver that receives 12 points in that time frame will receive a race ban. Stroll had qualified 20th and last for Sunday's Grand Prix.
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