Maldonado hit with grid slot penalty

Saturday 27th August 2011

Maldonado hit with grid slot penalty

Maldonado hit with grid slot penalty

Pastor Maldonado has been slapped with a five-grid slot penalty for his incident with Lewis Hamilton at the end of Q2 at Spa.

The duo first came across each other in the final minutes of Q2 as Hamilton overtook the Williams driver in a bid to gain track position and put in another vital lap.

However, when both were on their in-laps after the chequered flag was waved at the end of Q2, the duo clashed as Maldonado appeared to move in on Hamilton, side-swiping the McLaren driver.

The incident left Hamilton with a damaged front wing, which had to be changed ahead of Q1. He went on to qualify in second place for Sunday's Belgian GP. Maldonado was P16.

And although Hamilton reckoned the Venezuelan had "deliberately" hit him, the latter was adamant it was not intentional.

However, the stewards believed Maldonado deserved more of the blame for the incident and have penalised him just five places on Sunday's grid.

Hamilton, though, did not escape entirely as he was given a reprimand.

Related Links
Hamilton: No need for Maldonado's antics
Maldonado insists it wasn't deliberate

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