Starting grid - Australia 2014 - Bottas and Gutiérrez take five place gearbox grid penalties
Published by Christine
Both Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Gutiérrez were handed five place grid penalties for the Australian Grand Prix, after both the Williams and the Sauber car developed issues during final practice on Saturday morning. Gutiérrez didn't make it too far into qualifying, whereas Bottas managed to squeeze into the top ten, only to drop straight back out again.
Pastor Maldonado wasn't able to complete a lap and record a time in the qualifying session, which left him outside of the 107% cut off. Charlie Whiting admitted they would be somewhat lenient on this ruling, however, and the Lotus driver has been given permission to race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:44.231 | 22 |
| 2 | Daniel Ricciardo | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:44.548 | 20 |
| 3 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:44.595 | 21 |
| 4 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren Mercedes | 1:45.745 | 19 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:45.819 | 21 |
| 6 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:45.864 | 21 |
| 7 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:46.030 | 20 |
| 8 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:47.368 | 20 |
| 9 | Felipe Massa | Williams Martini Racing | 1:48.079 | 21 |
| 10 | Jenson Button | McLaren Mercedes | 1:44.437 | 13 |
| 11 | Kimi Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:44.494 | 13 |
| 12 | Sebastian Vettel | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:44.668 | 13 |
| 13 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber F1 Team | 1:45.655 | 12 |
| 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham F1 Team | 1:45.867 | 13 |
| 15 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams Martini Racing | 1:48.147 | 19 |
| 16 | Sergio Pérez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:47.293 | 13 |
| 17 | Max Chilton | Marussia F1 Team | 1:34.293 | 5 |
| 18 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia F1 Team | 1:34.794 | 5 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham F1 Team | 1:35.157 | 5 |
| 20 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus F1 Team | 1:36.993 | 6 |
| 21 | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber F1 Team | 1:35.117 | 7 |
| 22 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus F1 Team | No time | 3 |
- 5 places. Esteban Gutiérrez - The gearbox of car 21 has been changed before six consecutive events have expired.
- 5 places. Valtteri Bottas - The gearbox of car 77 has been changed before six consecutive events have expired.
Note: Pastor Maldonado has been given permission to start the race: a) Having set satisfactory times in practice. b) That such a grant is not precedent for further races.
