Maldonado excluded from qualifying for fuel breach

Lotus’s Pastor Maldonado has been excluded from the results of qualifying in Great Britain after his car was found to be carrying an insufficient amount of fuel to provide the mandatory post-session sample.

The Venezuelan lapped in 1m 44.018s in Q2 - good enough for 15th place - but subsequently parked his E22 at the side of the track after his fuel tank ran dry - something Lotus put down to a ‘fuel calculation error’ by engine suppliers Renault.

The stewards subsequently found Maldonado and Lotus in breach of article 6.6.2 of the FIA Technical Regulations which requires all competitors, including those who have stopped on track, to have enough fuel left to provide a one-litre fuel sample after qualifying.

Despite being excluded, Maldonado will be allowed to start Sunday’s race at Silverstone from 20th on the grid, in front of the Caterhams of Marcus Ericsson and Kamui Kobayashi, who both failed to set times within the required 107 percent of the fastest Q1 time.

Click here to see the revised grid for Sunday’s 2014 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix, following Maldonado’s exclusion.