No penalty for Kovalainen over Glock clash

Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen has escaped any sanction from the race stewards for an incident that happened with Marussia's Timo Glock during the United States Grand Prix.
17.11.2012 - Free Practice 3, Heikki Kovalainen (FIN) Caterham F1 Team CT01
17.11.2012 - Free Practice 3, Heikki Kovalainen (FIN) Caterham F1 Team CT01
© PHOTO 4

Heikki Kovalainen will not be penalised for a late-race incident in the 2012 F1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday afternoon.

The incident happened in the closing stages of the race as the Caterham driver was competing for position with Marussia Racing's Timo Glock.

Kovalainen was alleged to have made contact with Glock's car in an overtaking move at turn 15, after Glock had managed to get past him moments earlier on the same lap.

The stewards investigated whether Kovalainen had retaken 18th place from Glock after the Marussia had briefly gone off the track as a result of the contact.

"Late in the race I was able to get past Heikki in turn 12 but in turn 15 he dived in again and retook position, pushing me off the track a bit," Glock said after the race.

The incident was flagged for review by the race stewards after the end of the Grand Prix, as a possible breach of Article 20.4 of the FIA F1 Sporting Regulations.

The stewards - which this weekend included Garry Connelly and Emerson Fittipaldi - heard reports from the race director, the drivers and team representatives as well as examining the the video evidence available.

At the end of the deliberation, the stewards ruled that the clash had been a normal racing incident and that no further action or penalty was appropriate.

That means Kovalainen keeps 18th place while Glock is classified in 19th position. Both drivers were a lap off the leaders by the end of the 56-lap event.

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