Grid penalties for Massa and Coulthard at Sepang

15/03/2006

David Coulthard and Felipe Massa will both be penalized with a ten-spot grid demotion at Sepang, following last weekend's race in Bahrain, the opening round of the 2006 season.

The Red Bull driver encountered an engine problem at the end of the Sakhir event, stopping out on track after Fernando Alonso had taken the chequered flag. Since he 'finished' the race, the Scot incurs the penalty, whereas if he had retired prior to the finish, he would have escaped the penalty.

Massa also finished the race, following a spin early on and a subsequent A1 GP-style pitstop.

However, Ferrari subsequently found a problem with the engine in the 248 F1 and have elected to change the unit.