Marcus Ericsson hit with pit-lane start penalty following qualifying crash

Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson will be forced to start today's Monaco Grand Prix from the pit-lane following his crash with Felipe Massa during the first leg of qualifying. In addition, the Swedish driver has been hit with two penalty points on his driving license.

The 23-year-old tried to pass Felipe Massa at Mirabeau before locking his Caterham and tangling with the Williams, sending both cars on a trip to the barriers. After the session, he took full blame of the accident.

“On my final push lap I was behind Massa going into turn five and he moved offline a bit which meant I had to change my braking point. I locked up and went into the barrier with him which was my mistake,” Ericsson admitted during post-qualifying interviews.

“It’s unfortunate it took him out too but it looks like the car is okay so now I want to put today behind me and concentrate on the race”, he added.

Felipe Massa rued the accident, saying he had a good chance of making it into Q3. “I did everything I could in the first session but at the end Ericsson hit me and that ruined my qualifying,” a disappointed Felipe Massa told reporters qualifying.

“I was hopeful for a good position today as the car actually felt okay; it would have been a fight to get into the top 10, not easy, but possible. I am disappointed and tomorrow is going to be a challenge but with this car points are still possible.”

By Rachit Thukral