Davide Valsecchi gets grid demotion for second Valencia GP2 race as Jolyon Palmer and Addax duo also punished

Valsecchi had recovered from a messy first lap to finish eighth in race one, but was adjudged to have overtaken the safety car when it came out following Fabrizio Crestani's dramatic accident. DAMS driver Valsecchi was given a 20-second penalty, dropping him from eighth to 18th in the results, which means he starts on row nine rather than the reversed-grid pole position his eighth place had put him in line for.

iSport's Jolyon Palmer has been given a 10-place grid penalty for causing Crestani's roll, when he clipped the Lazarus driver as the field dodged around Felipe Nasr's slowing DAMS car. As Palmer retired with damage from the collision, the punishment will mean he starts at the back - as will Addax team-mates Josef Kral and Johnny Cecotto, who were excluded from their 16th and 19th places for running tyres allocated to each other.

Valsecchi's demotion means James Calado (Lotus) picks up eighth place and race two pole. The Briton had been dominating Saturday's race until a strategic miscue among the safety car periods dropped him down the order.

Saturday's decision is Valsecchi's second penalty of the Valencia weekend, after his three-place grid demotion for the feature race, which was applied when he was found to have impeded other drivers in Friday's qualifying session. The Italian still leads the championship by 20 points over Arden's Luiz Razia.