Five-place penalty for Button at Suzuka
Button will approach the Japanese Grand Prix knowing that he will receive a five-place grid penalty due to a gearbox change.
The McLaren team will have to change Jenson Button’s gearbox for the Japanese Grand Prix, which will take place next weekend at the Suzuka circuit. The British team detected the same type of failure as with Lewis Hamilton’s car, which forced the 2008 Champion to retire in Singapore when he seemed to be heading for victory: « Jenson’s gearbox had the same issue as Lewis’s in Singapore and analysis revealed a failure, » explains Paddy Lowe, McLaren’s technical director, to our colleagues at Autosport.
This change will result in a five-place grid penalty for Button. Hamilton will also receive a new gearbox but will not be penalized given that he retired during the last Grand Prix: « Both cars will tackle the Japanese Grand Prix with new gearboxes, which means Jenson will receive a 5-place penalty. »
In any case, this is enough to completely curb the world title ambitions for the one who will team up with Sergio Pérez in 2013: « Obviously it’s a big disappointment for Jenson and the team. The positive side is that we have understood and completely resolved the issue, allowing both drivers to fight fearlessly for the podium, » adds Lowe.
Reliability will indeed be a key factor in hoping to unseat Fernando Alonso, who, with the exception of the Belgian Grand Prix, has consistently finished in the points and now holds a 52-point lead over Hamilton, fourth in the championship and the highest-ranked McLaren driver.
