Starting grid for the 2014 Italian Grand Prix - MotorSportsTalk

Lewis Hamilton ended his pole position drought in Italy yesterday after finishing fastest in qualifying ahead of teammate and championship rival Nico Rosberg.

However, with both Mercedes drivers starting on the front row of the grid, the entire F1 world will be watching to see if there is a repeat of their on-track clash at the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Hamilton and Rosberg have both made assurances that there will be no contact, and the consequences would be severe, as made clear by the team in a meeting last week. In the heat of a championship battle though, anything could happen.

Just behind the Silver Arrows, Williams looks to be in contention for a big haul of points. Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa locked out the second row of the grid, and given the race pace of the FW36, both should be vying to complete the podium behind the Mercedes drivers today.

Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Force India will most probably make up the support cast for this one, but all will want to be in a position to capitalize on any drama at the front of the field should it strike.

You can watch today’s Italian Grand Prix live on NBCSN and Live Extra from 7.30am ET.

FROM THE STEWARDS’ OFFICE

Daniil Kvyat has been given a 10-place grid penalty for using a sixth internal combustion engine on his car, thus exceeding the limit of five for a season. He will start from 21st place.
Marcus Ericsson will start the race from the pit lane after ignoring double waved yellow flags during FP3 on Saturday.
Lotus has been fined €1,000 after Pastor Maldonado was found speeding in the pit lane.

STARTING GRID FOR THE 2014 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes
3. Valtteri Bottas Williams
4. Felipe Massa Williams
5. Kevin Magnussen McLaren
6. Jenson Button McLaren
7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
8. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull
9. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull
10. Sergio Perez Force India
11. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso
13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India
14. Adrian Sutil Sauber
15. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber
16. Pastor Maldonado Lotus
17. Romain Grosjean Lotus
18. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia
20. Max Chilton Marussia
21. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso

PL. Marcus Ericsson Caterham

Follow @LukeSmithF1

INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107^th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.