No foam costs Karthikeyan dear

The Indian, winner of two recent races at Brands Hatch, was one of six drivers to have his car's fuel tank checked after the first qualifying session.

Karthikeyan's machine was found to be the only one without foam, a safety measure introduced for the 1999 season to lessen the chances of spillage.

Karthikeyan's first session qualifying times were scrubbed, meaning he had to start all over again today.

But a spin in the opening session had ruined one of his tyres, meaning the car was out of balance today and he was unable to improve.

Team owner Trevor Carlin felt the penalty was too harsh on his driver, who was not at fault and had not received any performance gain.

'I volunteered a financial penalty instead,' he said. 'It's the team's mistake so I should pay the price. We received the car in kit form and whether the foam wasn't supplied or didn't make the delivery I don't know.

'It's the first year it's supposed to be there - we just didn't expect it not to be there.'