Sao Paulo, Brazil – Formula One world championship contender Fernando Alonso will start one position higher for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix due to Pastor Maldonado's 10-spot grid penalty.
Race stewards penalized Maldonado for failing to have his Williams car weighed in the FIA garage area following Saturday's qualifying session. Maldonado, who qualified sixth, received a reprimand for the infraction, but since it was his third reprimand of the 2012 season, the Venezuelan was handed the penalty, which dropped him to 16th on the grid.
Alonso, who trails two-time defending world champion Sebastian Vettel by 13 points, qualified eighth. The Ferrari driver will now start seventh.
Lewis Hamilton won the pole, while his McLaren teammate, Jenson Button, qualified second. Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Vettel will start third and fourth, respectively, and Felipe Massa from Ferrari will roll off fifth.
Nico Hulkenberg will place his Force India sixth on the grid. Starting eighth through 10th will be: Kimi Raikkonen from Lotus, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Hulkenberg's teammate, Paul di Resta.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.