Grosjean incurs penalty

Grosjean was handed a time penalty for changing elements in his power unit

Abu Dhabi — Qualifying for Sunday’s Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be tweaked again following Caterham’s return to the grid.

With Caterham and Marussia going into administration and missing out on the US and Brazil Grands Prix, qualifying was held with only 18 cars than the normal 22. With 22 cars on the grid, six drivers are eliminated in Q1 and six more are eliminated from Q2, leaving the final 10 going for a shoot-out.

But with Caterham making it to the Abu Dhabi grid, thanks to crowd funding efforts, the FIA stewards Paul Gutjahr, Steve Stringwell, Danny Sullivan and Khaled Bin Shaiban have made minor changes. Now, five cars will be eliminated in Q1 and another five in Q2, with the last 10 making the cut for Q3, the FIA said on Friday.

Meawhile, Romain Grosjean, who had confirmed that he will continue with LotusF1 in 2015, was handed a time penalty for changing elements in his power unit. LotusF1, who will switch to Mercedes engines next season after ending their partnership with Renault, opted to use a sixth internal combustion unit, turbocharger and MGU-H for the Abu Dhabi GP.

That incurred them a 20-place grid penalty. But since he will not be able to use that full penalty even if he takes pole position, and the fact that this being the last race and he cannot carry the penalty forward, the stewards decided to impose a time penalty.

According to the sporting regulations, an outstanding grid drop of one to five places will equate to a five-second penalty, and that a drop of six to 10 places equates to a 10-second penalty. If Grosjean has a remaining grid penalty of 11-20 places, he will have to take a drive-through penalty during the race.

It means that he will start from the back of the grid and will also incur a time penalty.

james@khaleejtimes.com