“I’ve officially decided that F1 is garbage”: Fans react to string of penalties awarded to 4 drivers including Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz

The qualifying session for the 2023 F1 Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday, June 17, was spiced up with changing weather conditions. As the intermittent rain continued throughout the session, chaos ensued as plenty of impeding incidents were noted down for further investigation.

The stewards were kept busy during and after the qualifying session, as they dished out penalties to four drivers. Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, and Lance Stroll were handed a three-place grid drop for impeding other drivers.

Nico Hulkenberg, star of the qualifying session lost his front-row start, after receiving a three-place grid penalty for breaching the red flag procedures in the final Q3 session.

F1 has been under fire from fans for awarding penalties to drivers late after qualifying or even after races. The official results are not confirmed quickly after the session as stewards have to discuss the incident with the drivers before deciding on the penalty.

During an F1 GP, racing incidents are also treated in a similar manner, as results are altered hours after the checkered flag is dropped. Thus the viewers need to keep themselves updated on results until all the incidents are investigated after a session.

Fans expressed their dislike for F1's slow judicial system, as they took to Twitter to share their opinions. Here are a few reactions.

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Exploring the reasons why F1 penalized Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz, and others

Of the four drivers who received grid penalties on Saturday, Carlos Sainz's offense was a major impeding incident. Sainz blocked Alpine driver Pierre Gasly in the final chicane who was unable to complete the lap, getting eliminated in Q1. Sainz who qualified for P8 drops down to P11.

Yuki Tsunoda and home hero Lance Stroll were also hit with three-place grid penalties for impeding Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon, respectively. The Alphatuari driver drops down from P16 to P19 while Stroll falls from P13 to P16. As a consolation, Gasly starts two places ahead in 15th position after the above penalties were applied.

Hulkenberg's heroic efforts in the qualifying session were undone after he was found guilty of committing a violation when the race was red flagged, following Oscar Piastri's crash.

From the FIA document, the report from the stewards read:

"The driver [Nico Hulkenberg] had just finished his fastest lap and had started another push lap. He was at T1 when the red flag was displayed, however, at that point he was already 1.5 seconds over his delta time."

The report continued that the Haas driver admitted that it was difficult to come below the delta time but that he slowed down to mitigate the circumstance and hence avoided a 10-place grid penalty that is usually bestowed for violations under the red flag.

As a result, Hulkenberg drops down to fifth place, letting Fernando Alonso onto the front row and both Mercedes drivers — Lewis Hamilton and George Russell — gaining a spot.