Sauber’s Felipe Nasr has been penalised three grid places for the start of his home race after stewards found the Brazilian guilty of blocking compatriot Felipe Massa during Saturday’s qualifying session at Interlagos.
On a slow lap, Nasr baulked the flying Williams driver in Turn 11 during Q1. Both men nonetheless progressed to Q2, with Nasr eventually qualifying 11th, and Massa eighth. With other penalties taken into account, Nasr is now set to start from 13th on the provisional grid.
Two other drivers head into the race with grid drops - Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was penalised 10 places for an unscheduled engine change, whilst Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was demoted three after he overtook under red flags during Friday practice.
The provisional grid now reads: Rosberg, Hamilton; Vettel, Raikkonen; Hulkenberg, Kvyat; Bottas, Massa; Verstappen, Sainz; Perez, Ericsson; Nasr, Grosjean; Maldonado, Button; Rossi, Stevens; Ricciardo, Alonso.
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