Aston Martin's Lance Stroll has been handed a three-place grid penalty by the Australian Grand Prix stewards for causing his collision with Nicholas Latifi.
Stroll veered into the Williams drivers' path between Melbourne's Turn 5 and Turn 6 after slowing during a preparation lap in the first segment of qualifying in Melbourne.
The Aston Martin was clipped by Latifi who had no place to go. Both drivers put the blame on the other, but the stewards ultimately decided that Stroll was responsible for the incident which brough out a lengthy red flag in the session.
After hearing both drivers and reviewing video evidence of the crash, the stewards noted in their bulletin that Stroll "was predominantly to blame for the collision because of his lack of situational awareness of LAT's (Latifi) passing manoeuvre".
Having qualified last, Stroll's three-spot grid drop is inconsequential. However, the Canadian - who also crashed at the end of FP3 - was also handed 2 penalty points on his licence.
"It was a shame to have such an awkward incident with Nicholas in Q1," commented Stroll after the steward's verdict.
"It has been a day to forget, so we will regroup and come back tomorrow and try to take any opportunities that come our way in the race."
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