Lewis Hamilton will start no higher than sixth on the grid for tomorrow’s Japanese grand prix as a result of a gearbox change.
The McLaren driver crashed heavily in FP1 and has only completed a handful of laps since the accident. The rear of the car was heavily damaged on the left-handside, although it is unconfirmed if the gearbox change is a result of the incident.
A statement from the team confirmed the change: “In P3 today, we noticed abnormal gearbox oil pressure on Lewis’s car, which we believed we had corrected ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session.
“This afternoon, as we fired up Lewis’s car several times in preparation for qualifying, we became aware that the symptoms were worse than we’d originally diagnosed, and a decision was later taken to change the gearbox ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session and the Grand Prix.
“As a result, Lewis will receive a five-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s race.”
The news will come as a massive blow to his title chances as the Brit is already on his back-foot coming into the weekend on the back of two DNF’s.
Gearboxes must last four races under new regulations. This weekends event is Hamilton’s fourth race on his current unit, therefore a five-place penalty has been handed down.
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