Formula 1 fans couldn't resist poking fun at the Spanish Grand Prix stewards after Logan Sargeant was handed a grid penalty.
Sargeant was investigated by the stewards after being accused of impeding Lance Stroll during the first part of qualifying. They found the American guilty and handed him a three-place grid drop "for the next race in which the driver participates".
However, as many on social media soon pointed out, that wasn't much of a punishment at all. The Williams driver had been slowest in qualifying and was set to start 20th on the grid anyway, so the penalty will make no difference whatsoever.
"That's going to hurt!" one fan commented sarcastically. Another joked: "Logan is immune to grid penalties," while a third questioned: "What's the point of a place penalty if you're already last?"
Speaking after the session Sargeant lamented a car upgrade which he said was not working as expected. The American told reporters: "Unfortunately, the cars weren't the same spec in the end. The floors that we've brought are underperforming which is a shame.
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"We've been working hard all weekend by trying to change things to get the floors to work as they should. It was slightly better in qualifying than it was in FP3. We need to understand the problem and get it fixed for the future. It's not great for me or the team and none of us want to be in this position. We'll keep fighting no matter the situation."
Sargeant has now been out-qualified by team-mate Alex Albon on all 10 occasions so far this year. But the British-Thai racer didn't fare much better in Barcelona and will start the race 19th - but looked on the bright side at the overall progress his team seems to have made.
Alex Albon also struggled on a difficult day for Williams (Formula 1 via Getty Images)Albon said: "We knew that FP3 wouldn't be representative, although we finish qualifying a bit disappointed. The long corners at this track haven't suited us for the past few years, but the car felt good today and we've made a huge step compared to last year.
"There was maybe a corner or two where I could’ve squeezed more out of the car, but it felt good overall, and I think highlights how strong the midfield is at this stage of the season. It's very close out there so we’ll see what opportunities come our way tomorrow."
Lando Norris took pole position by going two-hundredths of a second faster than Max Verstappen with his best lap. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell made it three Britons in the top four by qualifying third and fourth respectively.
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