Nico Hulkenberg to start to Spanish Grand Prix from the pit lane

Nico Hulkenberg will start the Spanish Grand Prix from the pitlane after the stewards penalized him for changing his front wing specification during Q1. The rules state that after a car leaves the pits in Q1 “no parts may be added, removed or replaced” to its aerodynamic set-up.

During qualifying, Hulkenberg suffered damage to his front wing and the team only had the old specification to replace it with.

FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer said that “The stewards reviewed the evidence from the technical delegate and sought clarification from the team sporting director.

The penalty means that both Renault drivers have been docked grid positions after Daniel Ricciardo was given a three-place grid penalty for changing his engine.