12/05/2019
NEWS STORY
Nico Hulkenberg will start today's Spanish GP from the pitlane after a change in front wing specification.
The German, who went off in the opening moments of Q1, damaging his front wing on the barriers, was able to head out again in the closing moments of the session after the damage was repaired.
Among the repairs, the team changed the front wing main plane, however it was subsequently found to be a different specification to the main plane which had been damaged.
The Barcelona stewards reviewed the evidence from the FIA Technical Delegate and sought clarification from Renault's sporting director, who advised that the
team's opinion was that the front wing main plane was "similar" to the one it replaced.
However, Renault was willing to accept the view of the FIA Technical Delegate that the front wing is actually of a different specification from the one used during qualifying.
Accordingly, the stewards determined that Hulkenberg, who failed to make it into Q2 and qualified 16th, will start from the pitlane.
There is talk that the FIA was alerted to the different specification of wing by a rival team.