Perez penalised for Massa shunt

Sergio Perez has been blamed for causing the last-lap accident that marred a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix and left both the Mexican and Williams rival Felipe Massa en route to hospital.

While the post-race trip was purely precautionary after heavy impacts with the tyre barrier triggered warning lights in their respective cockpits, both drivers were lucky to escape serious injury after making contact on the start-finish straight while dicing over fourth place. Perez had only just been passed for third spot by Sebastian Vettel, and the German was lucky not to be caught up in the accident as a crippled Massa sailed by on his left and the Force India crashed into the barriers to his right.

Both Massa and Perez were summoned to see the stewards - a visit that was denied by them being in hospital away from the circuit - but the officials did not waste too much time deliberating over the cause, eventually deciding that Perez had triggered the incident by changing his line and making contact with Massa while the Brazilian was trying to pass.

Whether the incident was the result of Perez's failing brakes and wearing tyres is hard to know, but the stewards handed down a five-place grid penalty for the Austrian Grand Prix later this month.

In the only other announcement of note, the officials also decided to punish Max Chilton for the lap one accident with Marussia team-mate Jules Bianchi, rubbing salt into the Briton's wounds after he saw his previously unblemished finishing record end in dramatic fashion after clipping the turn three kerb and wiping out his French colleague just two weeks after the team claimed its maiden F1 points in Monaco.

Chilton was punished with a three-place grid drop for the return to Austria.