5-place grid penalty for Hamilton in Bahrain
Even before the qualifiers, Lewis Hamilton received a 5-place grid penalty for the Bahrain Grand Prix, as the Mercedes team decided to change the gearbox of his F1 W04.
This morning, at the end of the third and final free practice session, Lewis Hamilton experienced an issue with the left rear of his car, which appears to be a suspension problem. The Mercedes team analyzed the problem and decided to change the entire damaged part as well as the gearbox of the Briton’s car.
The regulation requires a gearbox to last at least five consecutive Grand Prix races, which is not the case for Hamilton, as his gearbox has only covered three Grand Prix races: Australia, Malaysia, and China. Therefore, he incurs a five-place grid penalty even before the start of qualifications in less than an hour.
Hamilton’s penalty is the third one imposed for this Bahrain Grand Prix after those of Mark Webber (3 grid places) and Esteban Gutiérrez (5 grid places), both penalized following incidents at the Chinese Grand Prix.
