11 F3 drivers handed penalties after Spa qualifying chaos

11 drivers were hit with grid drop penalties following a chaotic qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday. 

A huge multi-car crash saw numerous drivers taken out during a hectic F3 qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix as drivers tactically jostled for position in order to be in the best spot to gain from the effects of the tow. 

Noah Stromsted was handed a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Yevan David at Turn 14 while on a warm-up lap during the final part of qualifying. The contact caused both drivers to stop on track with damage. 

Stromsted was given a five-place grid drop for both the sprint and feature race on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, Campos Racing’s Théophile Nael, ART Grand Prix driver Taito Kato, PREMA Racing duo Louis Sharp and James Wharton, Hitech’s Jin Nakamura, as well as DAMS Lucas Oil driver Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi were penalised for driving unnecessarily slowly on the racing line.

They were all given three-place grid drops except Nael, who was hit with a five-place grid penalty due to being the first car in the group and his actions affected all those behind. 

In addition, Campos Racing driver Ugo Ugochukwu and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie were handed three-place grid spots for both races for driving unnecessarily slow on the racing line as well as for leaving the track without justifiable cause and gaining a position in the queue. 

Finally, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Bruno del Pino and PREMA Racing’s José Garfias were issued with three-place grid penalties for weaving.

Ugochukwu’s penalty pushed him down next to title rival Freddie Slater, and the pair proceeded to take each other out on the first lap of Saturday’s sprint race in Belgium. 

The sprint race was won by Nakamura, who overcame his grid penalty to claim a maiden F3 victory.