Gutiérrez and Massa penalized 3 grid places in Barcelona
Felipe Massa and Esteban Gutierrez were penalized by the FIA stewards for impeding drivers during the qualifying session this afternoon at the Circuit de Catalunya.
During the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying held this afternoon, several drivers complained about being hindered during their fast laps. Button complained about a Williams, Räikkönen about Gutierrez’s Sauber, and Webber about Massa’s Ferrari.
The last two incidents have been investigated by the FIA stewards – including Alan Jones, who is serving as the driver steward this weekend – and they have decided to penalize Esteban Gutierrez and Felipe Massa with a three-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s Grand Prix because they unnecessarily impeded another driver who was on a fast lap.
Massa, who qualified in 6th position, will ultimately start tomorrow from the 9th position – allowing Romain Grosjean, Mark Webber, and Sergio Pérez to each gain a position. Gutierrez qualified in 16th position and will therefore start from the 19th position on the grid tomorrow. This allows Bottas, Maldonado, and van der Garde to each gain a place.
From our special correspondent in Barcelona
