Gasly initially ran to the fourth fastest time in Q3, with his 1m12.816s flying lap placing him 0.544s off Red Bull's runaway polesitter Max Verstappen.
That effort might have marked Gasly’s best starting position since he lined up in second place for the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix. However, he has been hit with two lots of three-place grid penalties after being found guilty of blocking Verstappen and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who ran to second in qualifying.
Both incidents occurred in Q1, with Sainz held up at Turn 13. In that case, the stewards noted Gasly’s defence that he was aware of the Ferrari but felt he could not avoid blocking the SF-23 owing to the high-speed delta between the cars.
But the FIA deemed that Gasly might have moved further to the right at the exit of the corner.
Gasly was also pinged for delaying Verstappen through the long Turn 4. In this incident, blame was laid on Alpine for not giving its driver sufficient warning to move over. The team had informed Gasly that approaching cars were on a slow lap.
Speaking prior to the penalties being handed out, Gasly said: “I haven't seen any replays.
"All I can say is I've tried my best with the information that I was given at the time.
Source: Autosport