Stroll penalised for overtaking under double waved yellows

Lance Stroll has been hit with a five-place grid drop for the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix for overtaking under double waved yellows in final practice.

Lewis Larkam

18 Nov 2023

The Aston Martin driver overtook Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz after passing double waved yellow flags following Alex Albon’s crash that eventually red-flagged the session.

Stroll admitted to the stewards he had his “head down” looking at his dash and was focusing on Sainz’s Ferrari and did not see the yellow flags.

The Canadian has also been given three penalty points for the infringement.

“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 18 (Lance Stroll), team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, telemetry, and in-car video evidence,” the stewards noted.

“Double yellow flags were waved at Marshal Post 12.9 as Car 18 approached that point along the straight. After passing the flags, which were clearly visible on the onboard video from Car 18, Car 18 overtook Car 55.

“The driver of Car 18 stated he had his “head down” looking at his dash and was concentrating on the Ferrari ahead of him and missed the flags. Although there were no yellow light panels displayed, the regulations are clear that the flags and light panels have the same meaning.

“Accordingly the standard penalty guidelines have been applied as to penalty.”