Two drivers in the race for this year's GP2 Series championship have had their Sunday morning in Germany made tougher after stewards at the Nurburgring handed down penalties for incidents that occurred in Saturday's feature event.

Championship leader Romain Grosjean - who saw his lead cut to a single point after failing to finish when Nico Hulkenberg claimed victory on home soil - and double race winner Pastor Maldonado both received five-place grid penalties after being adjudged to have caused avoidable accidents. The Frenchman was blamed for tipping Luca Filippi out of the race at the chicane on the first lap - the Italian collecting the hapless Luiz Razia as he spun - while an impetuous Maldonado collided with Diego Nunes as he emerged from the pits, ending both drivers' race.

The pair will now start 22nd and 26th respectively, making it harder to reach the top six and add to their points tallies. With closest rivals Hulkenberg and Vitaly Petrov, in Grosjean's case, rolling off from eighth and fifth, a change at the top of the table is likely, while Maldonado could see his tie for fourth overall with Lucas di Grassi ended if the Brazilian scores from the front row.

Silverstone surprise Alberto Valerio was also handed a grid penalty as the result of an infractions during race one, the Piquet GP driver dropping three spots - to 21st - after being adjudged to have received an unsafe release from the pits by his team. The Brazilian emerged directly into the path of ORT's Karun Chandhok. Like both Grosjean and Maldonado, Valerio failed to see the chequered flag on Saturday.