Valsecchi penalised after qualifying

Davide Valsecchi has picked up a ten place grid penalty for driving in the opposite direction during this afternoon’s qualifying session in the Istanbul Park circuit.

The Italian came to a halt at turn 10 around halfway through the session, and was seen to be rolling backwards down the hill as his rivals streamed past: the session was immediately red flagged, although Valsecchi managed to get his car restarted and returned to the pits with his rivals.

Valsecchi finished the session in eighth place: Christian Vietoris will move up to take the position in tomorrow’s feature race.