Petrov penalized, Massa escapes
Petrov crashed into Nico Hulkenberg at the start of the Suzuka race, putting both himself and the Williams rookie out of the race. The Russian later claimed he had to move across the track to avoid being hit by Nick Heidfeld.
"I was going passed Hulkenberg with Heidfeld on my right when he started to move left and so I also had to move left to avoid him," said the Renault rookie. "Unfortunately I hit the side of Hulkenberg's car and this is why I crashed."
“I just had an incredibly bad start, a load of wheelspin, and then I just saw a yellow arrow crashing into my right," Hülkenberg explained to reporters.
“That was Petrov. I’d have to see the replay – you never want to finish a Grand Prix that early."
Also talking in the FIA media pen, Petrov has explained that he moved to the left in order to avoid another car. The incident is currently under investigation by the stewards, one of which is former driver Alexander Wurz.
However, the stewards, led by former F1 driver Alex Wurz, didn't see it that way, putting the blame for the shunt purely on Petrov's shoulders.
The Suzuka stewards handed him a five-grid slot penalty, which will be served at the next race in Korea.
Meanwhile, Felipe Massa escaped punishment for his opening lap accident with Tonio Liuzzi, which the stewards deemed to have been a racing incident.