Sometimes we have to be in careful in F1 differentiating between “qualifying results” and “starting grid.”
Unfortunately, this weekend is no exception.
Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg qualified in fourth and second positions respectively. While they would both drop back five spots due to gearbox changes, Vettel’s goes into effect first, leaving an open grid slot for when Rosberg drops back from second to seventh, meaning Rosberg actually gets to start sixth.
Meanwhile, Felipe Nasr, Jolyon Palmer and Rio Haryanto all have three-place grid penalties for speeding under the yellow flag, while Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen got off with a slap on the wrist and will get to start in second and 17th positions respectively. Daniil Kvyat will start from the pits after crashing in qualifying.
Therefore, if there aren’t any more changes overnight (big if) the starting order will be:
Unofficial starting grid:
FIA grid shows HAM, HUL, BUT, RAI, RIC, ROS, BOT, VES, VET and MAS as top 10, so @nico_rosberg is 6th and has actually only lost 4 spots
— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperF1) July 2, 2016
