GP2: Gasly excluded over fire extinguisher issue

GP2 championship leading Red Bull protege Pierre Gasly has been excluded from third in the Hockenheim opener due to an empty fire extinguisher.

In-car footage appeared to show something leaking from the cockpit of Gasly's Prema Dallara early in the race, and a subsequent inspection found that the car's fire extinguisher was empty.

A statement from the officials said: "The stewards considered that the car did not comply with the safety equipment regulations."

Gasly had dropped from the front row to the midfield at the start of the race when his anti-stall system twice kicked in and then he ran wide while trying to regain ground. He charged back through to third on the road, overtaking long-time leader Raffaele Marciello on the run to the line and claiming the final podium position – which now goes back to Marciello – by just 0.03 seconds.

The exclusion reduces Gasly's championship lead over race winner Sergey Sirotkin from 21 to six points. It also means his Prema teammate Antonio Giovinazzi will start from pole on Sunday morning as he is elevated from ninth to eighth in the feature race results, with Alex Lynn now second on the grid.

Gasly will have to start race two from last.

Originally on Autosport.com