Narain Karthikeyan has been granted special dispensation to compete in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, having failed to make the 107 percent threshold in qualifying.
Reintroduced at the start of last year, the 107 rule prevents cars deemed too slow – and possibly dangerous – from taking the start in a Formula 1 race. Karthikeyan, who has suffered a weekend full of technical problems, will be able to start as FIA stewards reviewed his quickest lap times from this morning’s practice session.
“It’s been a very unlucky weekend for me so far,” says the Indian HRT driver. “In the morning everything went smoothly but in the afternoon, with the first set of tyres, I was pushing really hard and spun at Turn 3; as a result, I flat-spotted a tyre so I had to come back into the garage.
“We were going to go on the second set of tyres but we discovered some problems and due to safety concerns, not only for myself but the others, we decided that the best thing was to not go back out.
"It seems like my bad luck continues to follow me this weekend and, although I’m disappointed about that, there’s nothing else I can do but keep giving it my best shot.”
The pair of HRTs will round out the grid, with Barcelona-born Pedro de la Rosa lining up 21st on his return to the Spanish Grand Prix.
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