Maldonado picks up grid penalty

Pastor Maldonado will be forced to drop ten places on the grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Williams confirmed that the Venezuelan will have to use his ninth engine of the season for the event.

Maldonado has been forced into an engine change after the unit he used of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix was damaged when his gearbox failed during the race.

With F1 regulations limiting drivers to just eight engines during the season, Maldonado will now be forced to take a penalty in Abu Dhabi while team-mate Rubens Barrichello will move to his eighth engine for the penultimate race of the campaign.

"As Pastor will use a ninth engine in Abu Dhabi, due to damage incurred following the gearbox failure in India, he will therefore incur a subsequent 10-place grid penalty," chief operations engineer Mark Gillan said. "Rubens will use a new eighth engine."