Penalty for Hülkenberg and Pic on the starting grid

As of now, Charles Pic, Nico Hülkenberg, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jean-Eric Vergne will all be penalized on the starting grid of the 2012 British Grand Prix for various reasons.

Nico Hülkenberg and Charles Pic will have to change their gearbox after their qualifying session. The regulations then provide for a 5-place grid penalty. As a result, Nico Hülkenberg, who qualified in Q3 in 9th position, will start in 14th position. The German had already received a similar penalty at the European Grand Prix two weeks ago. He had then climbed to 5th position, his best result this season, before being demoted to 10th place. A similar issue for Charles Pic but without consequence. The Marussia driver qualified last, so he will still start from the back row but should benefit from Jean-Eric Vergne’s penalty to start 23rd. It should be noted that Pic set a time beyond the 107%. He will therefore have to wait for the stewards’ approval to participate in the race.

For his part, Kamui Kobayashi was penalized by the race stewards with a 5-place grid penalty after his collision with Massa in Valencia two weeks ago. Qualified 12th, he will therefore start 17th tomorrow.

Finally, Jean-Eric Vergne, who collided with Heikki Kovalainen in Valencia, received a 10-place penalty. The Frenchman was found responsible for the accident that forced the safety car to come onto the track. He had also received a €25,000 fine, payable out of his own pocket… Consequently, having qualified 16th, the Toro Rosso driver will start from the very back.

Kobayashi was under investigation yesterday following an error at the pit entry. The Japanese driver entered the pit lane after the defined limit. The FIA did not take any further action.