Official: Maldonado penalized 10 places, Alonso seventh on the grid
Guilty of missing the mandatory weigh-in during the qualifying session, Pastor Maldonado is penalized with a ten-place grid drop after receiving three reprimands. The ten drivers qualified behind him, starting with Fernando Alonso, each gain a place.
The grid established after the qualifications will have to be modified: Pastor Maldonado and his Williams will drop ten places following a new reprimand issued to the Venezuelan driver. During the qualification, he missed the mandatory weigh-in ordered by the sports authorities. This infraction was the third reprimand received by Maldonado this season.
Article 18.2 of the sporting regulations is clear on this matter: « Any driver who receives three reprimands during the same championship season will receive, upon the imposition of the third, a ten-place grid penalty at [the Grand Prix during which they receive it]. »
The direct consequence of this penalty is therefore to allow Fernando Alonso, among others, to gain a position on the grid and get closer to his direct rival, Sebastian Vettel, with whom he will contest the title. As for Pastor Maldonado, who qualified sixth, he will eventually start sixteenth.
Update at 8:45 PM: In the context of the incident between Pedro de la Rosa and Romain Grosjean during Q1, the stewards have decided not to impose any penalty.
