14/04/2013
NEWS STORY
Mark Webber's miserable weekend in China has spilled over to Bahrain as the Red Bull driver is hit with a grid penalty.
The Australian, still smarting from Malaysia, suffered further in China this weekend, first running out of fuel in Q2, and thereby missing the cut, and subsequently being excluded by the Race Stewards and sent to the back of the grid.
Starting the race from the pitlane, after his team opted to make numerous changes to his car, including a new gearbox and gear ratios, Webber was involved in an incident when overtaking Jean-Eric Vergne. The Australian subsequently pitted but was then forced to retire when his right-rear wheel became detached.
Facing the Stewards as they investigated the Vergne incident, Webber admitted that he attempted to overtake the Frenchman because he believed he would give him sufficient room. Vergne however, maintained his normal line through the corner and Webber was unable to avoid the collision. The Australian admitted that it was his mistake.
The Stewards agreed and having decided the Red Bull driver had breached Article 16.1 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, handed him a three-place grid penalty for next weekend's race in Bahrain.
In a separate investigation, the stewards found that Webber was released from his pit stop with the right rear wheel not correctly fitted and fined the Austrian team 5,000 euros.
In mitigation of penalty, the stewards took into account the fact that the team was initially unaware of the fact the wheel was not correctly fitted but as soon as the problem was identified advised Webber to stop the car.
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