Lewis Hamilton has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the Bahrain Grand Prix after the Mercedes outfit were forced to change his gearbox.
Hamilton suffered an unexplained tyre failure during final practice which caused heavy damage to his rear-suspension. He also incurred damage to the gearbox and, as per regulations, will start the Bahrain GP five places lower than he qualifies.
Hamilton secured pole position at the previous race in China, but has seemingly struggled for pace this weekend and wasn’t expected to challenge for the front grid slots.