Formula 3 driver Nikola Tsolov received a three-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s sprint race after a practice incident in which he caused a rival to crash into the barrier.
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The ART driver made contact with Alex Dunne of MP at the high-speed right-hand kink leading into the sharp right-hander at turn 11.
The collision occurred with just over three minutes remaining in the single 45-minute practice session. Tsolov, running tenth-fastest at the time and on a flying lap, closed rapidly on Dunne, who appeared to be weaving to warm his tyres between runs.
Dunne seemed unaware of Tsolov approaching and initially the ART driver backed off. As the track straightened, Tsolov moved alongside on Dunne’s left before steering right, and the two cars touched. Dunne’s car was pushed into the barrier, damaging the front-right suspension and front wing.
Tsolov was able to drive back to his garage, but Dunne could not return to the pits and stopped at the inside of turn 11. The session was red-flagged so marshals could recover the car, and with too little time remaining the practice could not be resumed.
After reviewing the incident, the stewards reported Dunne was “unaware of the approach” of Tsolov, admitted he “was not actively looking in his mirrors for any approaching cars,” and apologised for that lapse. Dunne received a reprimand for impeding Tsolov.
Regarding the contact, the stewards accepted Tsolov’s statement that he did not intend to cause a collision. Tsolov said his lap had been affected by Dunne and that he tried to make Dunne aware of his presence by deviating from his normal racing line and driving close to Dunne’s car. He said he misjudged that manoeuvre, which led to the collision.
“Having considered the matter extensively, the stewards determined the actions of car 25, while unintended, caused the collision that was completely avoidable,” they concluded. “The stewards, therefore, impose a grid drop in accordance with previous precedents.”
As a result, Tsolov was handed a three-place grid drop for the sprint race and given two penalty points on his licence, his first this year.
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