Lewis Hamilton has been granted a replacement front-left tyre for the European Grand Prix, after he damaged his race starting set on his fastest lap in the second part of qualifying on Saturday.
Hamilton struggled during qualifying, later admitting he was having an off day, which led to several lock-ups and even a crash in Q3 which means he will start tenth. Meanwhile team-mate Nico Rosberg starts from pole.
His Mercedes team applied to the FIA overnight to request the flat-spotted tyre be replaced over safety concerns – that has been granted by the FIA, with Mercedes set to swap his front-left for a supersoft tyre from another set.
Article 24.4g of F1's Sporting Regulations states: "Any such tyres damaged during Q2 will be inspected by the FIA technical delegate who will decide, at his absolute discretion, whether any may be replaced and, if so, which tyres they should be replaced with."
In order to ensure Hamilton doesn't gain an advantage, he won't receive a new tyre, but a similar mileage replacement which will be determined by Pirelli and Mercedes.
Hamilton has three sets of used supersofts, two sets of new softs and one set of used medium tyres for the race.
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