Felipe Massa has been forced to start the Austrian Grand Prix from the pit lane as a result of a damaged front wing.
The Williams driver was due to start from 10th on the grid alongside Sebastian Vettel, but the team found a crack in his front wing which it was not willing to risk in the race. As Massa was running a new spec of front wing, Williams could only revert to an older type of wing rather than replace for one of the same specification.
As a result, the change requires Massa to start from the pit lane, leaving tenth on the grid vacant.
Williams confirmed the news via Twitter:
We found structural damage on @MassaFelipe19’s new spec front wing & are not prepared to race it on safety grounds… pic.twitter.com/kJuEOQfEeD
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) July 3, 2016
.... so, @MassaFelipe19 will start the #AustrianGP from the pit lane with the previous spec front wing pic.twitter.com/6ergrDeMBm
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) July 3, 2016
Massa joins Daniil Kvyat in starting from the pit lane after the Toro Rosso driver needed a new chassis following his heavy crash in Q1 on Saturday.
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