Sebastian Buemi has been excluded from Saturday’s qualifying results after the FIA found an irregularity with the fuel used in his Toro Rosso.
The discovery was made following an FIA technical inspection which found the fuel didn’t conform to the regulations.
The Swiss driver qualified 16th and will now start from the back of the grid or, if the team wish, from the pit lane.
A statement issued by the governing body states: “The stewards, having received a report from the FIA Technical Delegate that the fuel sample taken after Qualifying from Car 18 showed an increase in one given GC Peak Area of an absolute amount greater than 0.1 per cent for the component present at a concentration below 0.8 per cent, and having heard from the FIA Formula One Analytical Chemist and the Team Representatives and examined the fuel test graphs, determine this to be a breach of Article 19.8.3 of the 2011 FIA Formula One Technical Regulations and decide to impose a penalty of exclusion of Car 18 from the results of Qualifying.”
The team offered up an explantion as to why the issue may have arisen: “During Friday’s FP1, Buemi’s car had a fuel pressure problem, which then got worse at the start of FP2 which is why he did not do a timed lap in that session. After FP2 the entire fuel system on his car was changed. When the fuel sample was taken from his car after qualifying, it did not match the one provided to the FIA prior to the start of the season. The team believes that some part of the new fuel system contained a chemical that contaminated the fuel and caused the non-conformity.”
Revised German GP Qualifying Results:
* – Liuzzi handed five-place penalty | ** – Buemi excluded from results.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Q3 Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:32.973 | 1:31.017 | 1:30.216 |
| 01. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:33.096 | 1:31.311 | 1:30.079 |
| 02. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:32.934 | 1:30.998 | 1:30.134 |
| 07. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:33.224 | 1:31.532 | 1:31.288 |
| 11. | N. Heidfeld | Renault | 1:32.505 | 1:32.215 | |
| 04. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:32.916 | 1:31.150 | 1:30.442 |
| 05. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:31.826 | 1:31.582 | 1:30.910 |
| 08. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:32.286 | 1:31.809 | 1:32.010 |
| 13. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:33.003 | 1:32.635 | |
| 17. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:33.786 | ||
| 15. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:33.295 | 1:33.176 | |
| 09. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:33.187 | 1:31.985 | 1:32.482 |
| 14. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1:33.664 | 1:33.043 | |
| 10. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:32.603 | 1:32.180 | 1:32.482 |
| 06. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:32.785 | 1:31.343 | 1:31.263 |
| 24. | S. Buemi** | Toro Rosso | Deleted | Deleted | |
| 16. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:33.658 | 1:33.698 | |
| 12. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:32.651 | 1:32.560 | |
| 20. | K. Chandhok | Team Lotus | 1:36.422 | ||
| 22. | D. Ricciardo | Hispania | 1:37.036 | ||
| 18. | H. Kovalainen | Team Lotus | 1:35.599 | ||
| 21. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:36.641 | ||
| 19. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:36.400 | ||
| 23. | V. Liuzzi* | Hispania | 1:37.011 | ||
| Q1 107% Time: | 1:38.253 | ||||
