01/11/2015
NEWS STORY
An already farcical penalty system gets just that little bit sillier as Jenson Button is demoted 70 grid places.
The Briton, who didn't actually qualify yesterday after his team was unable to find the root cause of a misfire that sidelined him in FP3, has been hit with numerous penalties bringing the grand total up to 70.
Initially the Briton was hit with a 25-place drop; 10 grid positions for his 10th ICE, 5 for the 10th Turbocharger, 5 for the 10th MGU-H and 5 for the 9th MGU-K.
However, a further change of engine meant another 25-place hit; 10 for the 11th ICE, 5 for the 11th Turbocharge, 5 for the MGU-H and 5 for the 10th MGU-K.
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Then came a further 5-place drop when the team changed his Control Electronics in FP3, his 6th unit and therefore a breach of Article 28.4 a) of the Sporting Regulations.
Further changes, as yet unspecified by the team or officials, though possibly linked to those annoying advertisements for Head & Shoulders and Santander that he used to do, added another 15-place grid drop for the McLaren driver who is due to start from the back of the grid anyway.
"We had a misfire on my engine this morning, and we had to change it to make sure everything was okay for tomorrow, which meant I couldn't qualify," said the 2009 world champion. "Whatever happened in qualifying, I was always going to start last because of my penalties. Still, the racer in me wanted to get out there and do the best I could.
"I've done hardly any laps this weekend, and, without any high-fuel running under my belt, the race is going to be difficult for me," he admitted.
"It's been a tough weekend but I'm still looking forward to tomorrow. It's always fun racing on a new circuit, and it'll be exciting too, because you never know what might happen."
Teammate Fernando Alonso got off relatively lightly, the Spaniard only being demoted 15-places, 10 for his 11th ICE and 5 for a change of gearbox before 6 consecutive events had expired.
At Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen took a mere 5-place when his gearbox was changed before 6 consecutive events had expired.
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