Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands and Brazil penalized

Several A1 Grand Prix teams were penalized tonight after a meeting of track officials in Malaysia. Following this third round of the 2007/08 championship, several incidents had indeed been noted without being punished, but that has now been rectified, and it even benefits France.

The track commissioners penalized the Netherlands and Germany in Race 1. The Dutch driver received a 25-second penalty for jumping the start and thus dropped from 8th to 18th position at the finish, scoring no points in this first race.

Germany, for its part, was doubly penalized as Ammermuller, who achieved a very nice podium, had it taken away in favor of the Canadian Rober Wickens, who was then 4th. The young German caused a France/Canada collision which resulted in no injuries but was demoted to 16th place. He then hit the Czech Republic in Race 2, and the officials were more severe by disqualifying A1 Team Germany from the race. A big disappointment in the championship.

In the second race, known as endurance, it was Great Britain and Brazil that each received a two-second penalty on their finishing time.

Sergio Jiminez and Oliver Jarvis did not comply with the prohibitions on leaving the pits after their refueling, despite several cars overtaking them. Three single-seaters were side by side at the pit exit, with France in the middle.

In the end, France secures two second places and gains two points in the ranking, allowing them to narrow the gap to eight points behind Switzerland in the world championship. Malaysia also benefits and scores its first point.

The ranking and race results after penalties have been updated. You can view them on the « Live A1GP » and in the section: Portal> A1GP> Ranking.