Formula 3 Nikola Tsolov was given a three-place grid drop for tomorrow’s sprint race after causing a rival to crash into a barrier during practice.
The ART driver made contact with Alex Dunne of rivals MP at the flat-out right-hand kink approaching the sharp right hand corner of turn 11.
The incident occured with just over three minutes remaining in the single, 45-minute practice session for F3 drivers. Tsolov, who was 10th-fastest at the time and on a flying lap, arrived on the tail of Dunne, who appeared to be weaving to warm his tyres between runs.
Dunne appeared unaware of Tsolov looming in his mirrors and the ART driver backed off. As the track straightened out, Tsolov then drew along the left-hand side of his rival and swerved right.
The pair made contact and Dunne’s car was pushed to the right, striking the barrier. The impact broke the front-right suspension and front wing on the MP driver’s machine.
While Tsolov drove back to his garage, Dunne was unable to return to the pits and pulled his car to a stop off the circuit at the inside of turn 11. That triggered an early end to the session, which was red-flagged so the car could be recovered, with too little time available to resume running.
After speaking to the drivers, the stewards said Dunne was “unaware of the approach” of Tsolov behind him and “was not actively looking in his mirrors for any approaching cars and apologised for the lapse.” Dunne was reprimanded for impeding Tsolov.
Regarding the collision, the stewards accepted Tsolov’s explanation that he did not intend to collide with Dunne.
“Car 25 [Tsolov] stated that his lap was affected by car nine [Dunne] and he wanted the driver to be aware of his presence and that he was being impeded. Car 25 deviated from his normal racing line to drive close to car nine to highlight his presence. He unfortunately misjudged this action and collided with car nine.
“Having considered the matter extensively, the stewards determined the actions of car 25, while unintended, caused the collision that was completely avoidable. The stewards, therefore, impose a grid drop in accordance with previous precedents.”
In addition to his three-place grid penalty, Tsolov was also given two penalty points on his licence, his first this year.
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Formula 3
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