Lewis Hamilton will start the Chinese Grand Prix five places lower than he qualifies after taking a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox ahead of this weekend's race.
The Mercedes driver hasn't had the best start to a season, dropping 17 points behind chief rival Nico Rosberg who has won the opening two races, despite Hamilton starting on pole for both.
Hamilton has struggled with his starts and at the last race in Bahrain, sustained damage following contact with Williams' Valtteri Bottas. He dropped to seventh before recovering to finish third.
According to Mercedes, Hamilton's gearbox sustained damage in Bahrain and they believe China is "the best place to make the change and take the penalty", rather than risk a retirement.
The team did however stress the fact the damage to the gearbox was not linked to his clash with Bottas: "Change not a result of Bahrain accident. More Lewis' misfortune to be fair."
Writing on his Instagram, Hamilton admitted it was a blow: "This weekend is going to be tough," he said. "I will start with a 5-place grid penalty due to a gearbox change but because of you guys I feel energised, motivated, and confident that we can regain ground lost."
