What happened in the Formula 1 driver and constructor standings as a result of the fact that Romain Grosjean was disqualified from the Italian Grand Prix?
Haas’ Romain Grosjean was disqualified from the 14th race on the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 season, the Italian Grand Prix, after finishing in sixth place as a result of the fact that Renault Sport filed a protest and the Formula 1 stewards deemed that the floor of his Ferrari-powered machine did not comply with the rules.
As a result, Grosjean and Haas lost the eight points that they had earned for the driver standings and constructor standings, respectively, in the 53-lap race around the 11-turn, 3.600-mile (5.793-kilometer) Autodromo Nazionale Monza road course in Monza, Italy.
What does this disqualification mean in terms of the effect that it had on these two sets of standings? Quite a few things changed as a result of it.
Grosjean originally moved into 12th place in the driver standings with 35 points because of the eight points that he originally earned as a result of his sixth place finish. However, he is now still in 14th with 27 after what would have been his fifth top 10 finish of the season and in the last six races does not count.
As a result of Grosjean losing his sixth place finish, five drivers representing three different teams scored more points than they would have had the 32-year-old Frenchman been officially scored in sixth.
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Racing Point Force India teammates Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez finished the race in seventh and eighth place, but they were moved up to sixth and seventh, respectively. After initially scoring six and four points, they scored eight and six, bringing their respective point totals to 45 and 46 as opposed to 43 and 44.
Ocon initially end the race in 11th place in the driver standings, but he now sits in 10th, as he passed McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, who has earned 44 points so far this season. Perez initially ended the race in a ninth place tie in the standings with Alonso, but now he sits alone in ninth on his own.
Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr. finished the race in ninth place, but he was moved up to eighth and scored four points as opposed to two, bringing his point total to 34 as opposed to 32. He initially ended the race in 13th in the driver standings, but he now sits in 12th.
Williams Martini Racing teammates Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin finished the race in 10th and 11th place, but they were moved up to ninth and 10th, respectively. After Stroll initially scored one point and Sirotkin originally did not score any, Stroll scored two and Sirotkin scored one, bringing their respective point totals to six and one as opposed to five and zero.
On a side note, Sirotkin’s one point is the first point of his Formula 1 career.
While Sirotkin still sits in 20th place (last) in the driver standings, Stroll now sits in a 17th place tie as opposed to along in 18th. He is tied with Alfa Romeo Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, who has also earned six points so far this year.
Haas originally moved into a fourth place tie in the constructor standings with Renault Sport with 84 points as the “best of the rest” behind Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Scuderia Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing because of the eight points that Grosjean originally earned as a result of his eighth place finish. However, they have now been relegated to fifth with 76 points.
Haas’ other driver, Kevin Magnussen, originally finished the race in 17th place, so the fact that he moved up to 16th as a result of Grosjean’s disqualification did not have any impact on his point total nor Haas’ point total in the driver standings.
Force India originally ended the race in eighth place in the constructor standings with 28 points, but as a result of the fact that they gained four points with Ocon and Perez being moved up one position each in the finishing order, they now sit in seventh with 32 points.
Renault originally ended the race in a fourth place tie in the constructor standings with Haas, as referenced above, but as a result of the fact that they gained two points with Sainz Jr. being moved up one position in the finishing order, they now sit alone in fourth with 86 points.
Finally, Williams originally ended the race in 10th (last) place in the constructor standings with five points. They still sit in 10th, but as a result of the fact that they gained two points with Stroll and Sirotkin being moved up one position each in the finishing order, they now have seven points.
Do you believe that the decision of the Formula 1 stewards to disqualify Romain Grosjean from the Italian Grand Prix was a fair one, or do you believe that his sixth place result in the race should be reinstated?