Lance Stroll Handed Additional Grid Penalty for Monaco Grand Prix
Lance Stroll faces a compounded challenge for the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix after receiving a second grid penalty, this time for impeding Pierre Gasly during Saturday’s Qualifying session.
Stroll, who already had a one-place grid drop following an incident involving Charles Leclerc during Friday’s practice, was captured on camera clearly blocking Gasly under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane in Q1. Gasly immediately vented his frustration on team radio, labeling Stroll’s maneuver as “shocking.”
Read: Lance Stroll Given Grid Penalty After Monaco FP1
The stewards reviewed video footage, data, and testimonies from both drivers, concluding that Stroll had not been properly informed about the traffic around him. Stroll mistakenly believed only one car needed to pass him, leading him to move back onto the racing line and obstruct Gasly’s fast lap.
“The driver of Car 18 assumed wrongly that there was only one car to be let by,” the official stewards’ statement read. “He therefore wrongly assumed that there was no other car to be let by.”
Despite accepting Stroll’s explanation about visibility issues caused by the sun, the stewards applied the standard three-place grid penalty, bringing his total penalty to four places. However, Stroll will start the race from 19th due to Haas rookie Ollie Bearman’s larger 10-place penalty, placing Bearman at the back of the grid.
The Monaco Grand Prix will present a significant challenge for the Aston Martin driver as he aims to recover from his compromised starting position.
