Manor’s Rio Haryanto will drop three places on the grid for his debut Grand Prix on Sunday, after Melbourne stewards found him at fault for crashing into the Haas of Romain Grosjean at the start of final practice.
Manor released Haryanto into Grosjean’s path in the pit lane, causing the two cars to become briefly entwined after colliding, and the officials’ investigation into the incident decided that the Indonesian rookie had not paid attention to the approaching car in the fast lane.
As well as his grid drop, Haryanto, who finished FP3 in 22nd place two-tenths down on team mate Pascal Wehrlein, picks up two penalty points for the misdemeanour.
Following the crash, Haryanto got a new front wing and continued, while Grosjean’s car was wheeled back to the pits for lengthy repairs to the floor and bodywork.
