• Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying

Massa and Gutierrez hit with grid penalties

ESPN Staff
May 11, 2013 « We wanted more - Alonso | Mercedes too quick for Lotus - Raikkonen »
Felipe Massa impeded Mark Webber in Q2 © Getty Images
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Felipe Massa and Esteban Gutierrez have both been slapped with three-place grid penalties ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Both drivers were penalised for impeding competitors and the grid drops will see Massa demoted from sixth to ninth while Gutierrez falls from 16th to 19th.

Gutierrez held up Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus in the final sector of the lap in Q1, and although Raikkonen went on to set a quicker time the stewards deemed that he had been disadvantaged. Massa's misdemeanour came in Q2 when he blocked Mark Webber in turn 12, with the Red Bull venting his frustration by raising his hands from the steering wheel.

Webber is one of the drivers who will benefit from the Massa penalty as he moves from eighth to seventh on the grid.

Massa said he felt the penalty was unfair when the factors surrounding the situation were taken in to account.

"It was not my intention to get in his way and in all honesty, I can't recall having affected his qualifying," Massa said. "When I saw him in the mirrors, I thought I'd get through the corner before letting him by, which was the only course of action at such a narrow point. On top of that, he was on worn tyres at the time and I don't think he was doing a quick lap."

Click here to view the revised grid.

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