Three-place penalty for Nico Hülkenberg
Weekend to forget for Nico Hülkenberg: forced to retire following his collision with Felipe Massa, the German receives a three-place grid penalty at Suzuka.
Nico Hülkenberg tried to get the better of Felipe Massa when the Williams driver exited the pits on the 13th lap. Nevertheless, the German driver did not leave enough space for the Brazilian, making the collision inevitable. It was indeed the Sahara Force India driver who was the main victim, as he was thrown into the wall and had to retire.
But the commissioners decided not to leave the matter there and decided to penalize him for the next event. He will therefore drop three places from his position obtained on the track.
“The race was promising for us, and to finish it so early with this incident is regrettable,” said the Force India driver to the microphones of journalists present on site.
Although found guilty, he defends himself from responsibility in the incident: “I was on the racing line, taking the third turn, he (Felipe Massa) came out of the pits and hit the back of my car,” he stated. “That action was very strange. I don’t understand why the penalty was given so quickly, without consulting both of our opinions.”
Fate was not kind to Felipe Massa in the end, as the Brazilian had to retire midway through the race due to a gearbox problem.
