07/07/2012
NEWS STORY
While uncertainly abounded during Saturday's qualifying, and discussions on just how the grid would ultimately be decided should it be rained out, there were four driver who knew what would happen regardless.
Gearbox changes for Nico Hulkenberg and Charles Pic meant, whatever happened, they would drop five places. Given the relative performance of Pic's Marussia it all but guarantees the Frenchman last spot on the grid.
Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi and Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne also face grid penalties for separate incidents during the European GP. Kobayashi was penalised five spots for closing the door on Bruno Senna while Jean-Eric Vergne's collision with Heikki Kovalainen, which triggered a safety car appearance, earned the Frenchman a ten-place penalty.
On top of Vergne's grid penalty the Frenchman was also fined 25,000 euros, which his Toro Rosso team made him pay personally. "I made a mistake definitely and I paid for it in cash," he admitted. "The only thing that I can say is that I have learned from it and I won't do this kind of mistake anymore."