F12 GNOME panel has big gaps between launchers

[Brian Mury]

I recently made the move from F11 to F12.

Application launchers on GNOME panels have much larger gaps between them
than they did on F11. I can move the icons by dragging with the middle
mouse button, but I cannot get them any closer together. This wastes a
lot of space on the panels, and I would really like to get them closer
together like they were in F11.

Is this an intentional change, or is something messed up on my system?

I did a fresh install of F12, not an upgrade, and I have tested with a
new user.

I've attached a screenshot of part of a panel in both F11 and F12 to
illustrate. I'm not sure if the list will allow attachments, if not I
will upload it somewhere and post a link.

Brian