Mark Webber issued reprimand over missing qualifying weight check

Mark Webber has escaped being issued with a penalty after missing a weight check during qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, and has been issued with only a reprimand from the race stewards. Webber will therefore retain his 3rd place on the grid, alongside the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen.

After qualifying for the race had come to a conclusion, the race stewards announced that Mark Webber was under investigation for missing a weight check towards the end of the opening segment of qualifying. After much deliberation by the race stewards, headed by former F1 Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, they decided to only reprimand the Red Bull driver, therefore allowing him to retain his grid position for tomorrow’s 56-lap race.

“The driver failed to proceed directly to the FIA garage for weighing when signaled to do so. However upon realizing the error, the team brought the car back to the FIA garage immediately.” Read an official statement from the race stewards on the matter.

Michael Schumacher was also lucky to escape a penalty, after the seven-time World Champion was summoned to the stewards for allegedly impeding Fernando Alonso between Turns 12 and 16. However, the race stewards decided that no further action was required, stating that “Both drivers [were] advised that they were on their first (preparation) lap of a multi-lap stint, and were able to continue their respective laps.”

This means that Michael Schumacher also retains his original grid spot of 5th, after a relatively successful qualifying session for the inaugural race around the Circuit of the Americas. The German driver was able to qualify eleven places ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg, who suffered a torrid qualifying session.

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