Karthikeyan allowed to race despite 107% fail

The Indian finished 8.5 seconds off the pace in Q1 after having to stop his car before he could complete a second run.

But the HRT driver will race in Spain after the stewards deemed his time in final practice was fast enough to prove what he could have done.

"We were going to go on the second set of tyres but we discovered some problems and due to safety concerns, not only for myself but the others, we decided that the best thing was to not go back out," explained Karthikeyan, who failed to set a time on Friday.

"It seems like my bad luck continues to follow me this weekend and, although I'm disappointed about that, there's nothing else I can do but keep giving it my best shot."