Nico Rosberg has been struck with a five-place grid penalty following a gearbox change on his Mercedes, caused after his initial gearbox was damaged during his crash in final practice ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
The German had initially suffered severe blistering on his rear tyres during the early stages of the practice session along with team-mate Lewis Hamilton, forcing both drivers to return to the pits and sit out the majority of the session.
Eventually both drivers were sent back out with brand new ultra soft tyres bolted to their cars, only for Rosberg to end up in the barriers.
.@nico_rosberg will incur a a gearbox penalty as a full new unit will be fitted for #Quali. #F1 #AustrianGP
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 2, 2016
The guys in the garage are working flat out to make sure @nico_rosberg can take part in #Quali. #F1 #AustrianGP
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 2, 2016
Rosberg was visibly angry with the situation regarding his incident, with several issues already arising throughout the weekend with drivers suffering car failures after striking the new and imposing kerbs that line the Red Bull Ring.
During Friday practice Max Verstappen suffered a similar issue with his front suspension, after clattering into the “sausage” kerbs on the outside of Turn 5 and beaching his Red Bull in the gravel.
With both Rosberg and fellow compatriot Sebastian Vettel set to incur identical grid penalties this weekend, the door has been left wide open for reigning champion Hamilton to secure a vital pole position.
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