17 drivers hit with grid penalties after Monza F3 qualifying farce

In the last five minutes of the qualifying session, Renault junior Christian Lundgaard led a group of cars that aimed to complete flying laps.

As they reached the straight leading up to Monza's Parabolica, over 20 cars littered the straight with a mix of some driving slowly on the racing line and others completing fast laps.

The session was soon red-flagged for safety reasons.

It created a situation described as "dangerous" by championship leader Robert Shwartzman.

The drivers worst hit by the penalties were Prema Racing Ferrari juniors Marcus Armstrong and Shwartzman, who had qualified second and third but were given 10-place grid penalties.

All three Prema drivers were given two five-place grid drop penalties, totalling a 10-place grid penalty, for two instances of "driving unnecessary slowly".

HWA's Jake Hughes and Bent Viscaal, and Carlin's Teppei Natori were awarded the same penalty. Armstrong now starts seventh, ahead of Shwartzman in eighth.

The top five is now headed by ART Grand Prix's Lundgaard - who was handed a three-place drop for "driving unnecessarily slowly", but holds onto pole as a result of penalties for other drivers.

He is then followed by Lirim Zendeli, Richard Verschoor, Giorgio Carrara and Max Fewtrell.

The latter qualified seventh and starts fifth despite being hit with a three-place penalty for the same reason as Lundgaard.

Leonardo Pulcini gets a five-place grid drop for driving unnecessarily slowly, and also receives a three-place grid penalty for impeding Devlin DeFrancesco and starts 27th.

He had qualified 22nd.

Carlin's Logan Sargeant and DeFrancesco have been penalised five positions on the grid for causing an incident, but that was from the last round at Spa.

Sargeant also got an additional five-place penalty for "driving unnecessary slowly".