Lewis Hamilton says his five-place grid penalty for the Chinese Grand Prix excites him as he knows he will have to battle his way through the field if he's to limit further damage to his championship hopes.
Hamilton currently sits 17 points adrift of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the standings following poor starts from pole at both the Australian and Bahrain grands prix which have seen him finish second and third respectively.
The prospect of starting sixth or lower doesn't concern the Briton, who is relishing the challenge at a circuit he's always done well at.
"It's a challenge, and I enjoy that," he is quoted as saying by Motorsport. "Of course when you hear on the Wednesday morning that you're arriving at the weekend with a penalty already, of course that changes the approach to the weekend, that changes the mindset.
"For me a challenge is an opportunity to rise, so I'm really excited about the opportunity, from where I'm going to start hopefully in the best possible position with the penalty.
"I love racing, and it's a race this weekend, rather than be at the front and have less of a race."
Hamilton admits the penalty makes Rosberg's life a bit easier, but he isn't ruling out a win of his own this weekend.
"It is going to be an easy weekend for Nico for sure. Most likely it will be an easier weekend for him.
"But it doesn't mean I can't give him a good run for his money from wherever I start. I'll be pushing as hard as I can… It doesn't mean I can't win the race still, which is my thought process, rather than damage limitation."
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