BMW Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi has been handed a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix by the Budapest race stewards, after he failed to enter the FIA garage to be weighed during qualifying on Saturday.
During practice and qualifying cars are called in at random to be weighed to ensure that they comply with minimum weight requirements (620kg).
Felipe Massa handed Ferrari team mate Fernando Alonso a controversial victory in Sunday’s German Grand Prix as the red team scored their second one-two of the season and the win they were under so much pressure to achieve before the summer break, beating Sebastian Vettel’s pole-winning Red Bull into third place.
Lewis Hamilton held on to his championship lead as fourth place brought him to 157 points ahead of McLaren team mate Jenson Button, who moved to 143 points after finishing fifth. Red Bull’s Mark Webber was sixth after a race in which he was held back by an engine problem. He and Vettel are now joint third with 136 points, as Alonso closed up on 123 and Massa climbed to 85.
After running wide on his last flying lap during qualifying, Red Bull’s Mark Webber didn’t shy away from blaming himself for his fourth place position on the Hockenheim grid. But despite his disappointment, Webber is feeling optimistic about his chances on Sunday
The two Red Bulls seemed to be in a league of their own on Saturday afternoon at Silverstone, with only Fernando Alonso coming close enough to look at their exhausts. Mark Webber was forced to grin and bear it as team mate Sebastian Vettel clocked pole position, but given where his other title rivals are on the grid, P2 is not a bad place to be – especially when you believe you car advantage should carry over to the race
It was something of a worst-case scenario for Sebastian Vettel – starting from pole position but then having to head back to the pits after only one lap with a puncture. Not the British Grand Prix he had anticipated. But over the remaining 51 laps he caught up brilliantly, giving the fans a great racing experience, and was able to bag seventh place and six points – points that could yet make all the difference…
Although he ultimately finished behind his team mate – and standings leader – Lewis Hamilton, McLaren’s Jenson Button was pleased to convert his seventh-place grid slot into a third-place finish in Valencia last weekend, especially as it was his third successive podium. At the forthcoming British Grand Prix he’ll race for the first time on home soil as world champion and, as he explained to his official website, he can’t wait
Back on home soil and with a heavily upgraded car, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was convinced he would get his title campaign back on course at last weekend’s European Grand Prix, but things didn’t quite go to plan.
Alonso left Valencia frustrated and disappointed with his eighth-place result. However, after some reflection, the Spaniard is ready to refocus his energies on Silverstone…
