Pastor Maldonado given five place grid penalty - Maldonado and Hamilton both pay a visit to the stewards
Published by Christine
Hello and welcome to F1Minute - Pastor Maldonado given five place grid penalty.
Pastor Maldonado has been handed a five place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix tomorrow after an incident with Lewis Hamilton during qualifying. Hamilton has been given a reprimand for the altercation, which took place after the second quali session.
Towards the end of the fifteen minute session, both Williams drivers were in a train of cars behind Heikki Kovalainen, and Hamilton had to squeeze past Maldonado to stay on his hot lap. Whether through bad feeling or misunderstanding, after the chequered flag was waved, Maldonado pulled alongside Hamilton and the pair collided.
Lewis was immediately on his radio claiming it was deliberate, although closer inspection of the replays show both drivers jinking about on the racing line. The stewards have demoted Maldonado to 21st on the grid, with Hamilton keeping his second place and gaining just a reprimand.
Meanwhile, those drivers who did not qualify, falling outside of the 107% time in Q1 have been granted permission to race. That’s Jérôme D’Ambrosio, Tonio Liuzzi, Daniel Ricciardo and Michael Schumacher, who crashed out on his first lap.
