Mikhail Grachev given penalty for contact with Jordi Gené

Russian driver Mikhail Grachev has been deprived of his sixth place result in the first race of the day at Shanghai, after the Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver was given a 30 second penalty by the stewards after an incident with Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil’s Jordi Gené on lap seven.

The two had come together at the final corner, which the stewards deemed the 27-year-old Russian responsible for, and handed him a 30 second penalty in lieu of a drive-through, with dropped the Audi driver to 14th and outside of the points-paying positions, and with Gené’s SEAT promoted to seventh behind Grachev’s team-mate Franz Engstler, who inherits sixth.

The penalty won’t affect the grid for race two, where Grachev is set to start from seventh position, with the top ten from qualifying reversed.