US Grand Prix: Ferrari take Felipe Massa penalty to aid Fernando Alonso title bid

Alonso to start Austin race from seventh on the grid

Fernando Alonso will start the US Grand Prix seventh, on the clean side of the grid (Getty Images)

Felipe Massa will take a five-place grid penalty for today's United States Grand Prix as Ferrari tries to boost Fernando Alonso's fading Formula One world championship bid.

Ferrari has decided to break the seal on the gearbox of Massa, thus incurring the penalty, resulting in him dropping from sixth to 11th on the Circuit of The Americas grid.

That, in turn, aids Alonso as he is promoted from eighth to seventh, allowing the Spaniard to be on the clean side of the grid, and thus potentially make an improved start.

Massa remarked yesterday that in being on the dirty side of the new Circuit of The Americas track would be akin to starting in the wet given the combination of the asphalt and tyres.

A Ferrari spokesman has praised Massa for aiding Ferrari's cause, adding the move was made because "the interests of the team come before anything else".

Ferrari's decision has a knock-on effect for Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India, Lotus' Romain Grosjean and Williams' Bruno Senna who were due to start seventh, ninth and 11th respectively - on the clean side - but now line up sixth, eighth and 10th, and on the dirty side.

Like Alonso, Williams' Pastor Maldonado is the only other beneficiary in moving on to the clean side as he goes from 10th to ninth.

With Alonso trailing polesitter Sebastian Vettel by 10 points, he has to finish within 15 points of the German to ensure the title race goes down to the wire in Brazil next Sunday.

PA