Stroll demoted to P8 following post-race penalty

©AstonMartin

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll has swapped positions with AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly in the final standings of Sunday's Emilia Romagna GP.

The Canadian was hit with a five-second penalty by the stewards after the race for leaving the track on lap 11 at Tamburello and overtaking Gasly in the process.

Stroll, who finished Sunday's race P7 on the road, therefore drops to 8th while Gasly is elevated to P7. The Aston Martin driver was also handed a penalty point on his licence, which has increased his overall tally to four points.

Read also: Russell still has 'lots to learn' after Imola crash - Wolff

In another post-race decision that followed their investigation into the high-profile incident involving George Russell and Valtteri Bottas, the stewards did not take any action against either driver, deeming the crash a racing incident.

"The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 63 (George Russell), the driver of Car 77 (Valtteri Bottas) and the team representatives and reviewed multiple angles of video evidence and telemetry," said the FIA press release.

"[Russell] approached [Bottas] to pass after the front straight a few laps after the restart when DRS had recently been enabled. [Bottas] maintained his line throughout the incident along the right hand side of the dry line, leaving at least a full car’s width to the right at all times.

"[Russell] approached with a significant speed advantage. He moved to pass on the right. As the cars approached the kink of Turn 1, the gap between them and the right hand side of the track decreased. At no time did either car manoeuvre erratically.

"The track appeared to be not especially wet through Turn 1 but at the point of closest approach to the right hand side of the track, the right hand side tyres of [Russell] hit an especially damp patch and the car snap yawed, bearing in mind that the car had low downforce in the rear with the DRS open.

"The Stewards conclude that the accident was a racing incident considering the conditions and take no further action."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.