Hamilton to change gearbox resulting to gearbox penalty

The Mercedes Formula 1 has announced this morning that Lewis Hamilton would require a new gearbox, which result in a five place grid penalty. The gearbox needs to be changed following his crash at the German Grad Prix.

At first, the team wasn't sure about the extent of the damage when a brake disc failure pitched Hamilton off the track and into the barriers at the Sachskurve in Q1.

The changing of gearbox will move Hamilton down to 20th on the grid, although the team is still awaiting confirmation from the FIA about whether a change of brake disc specification will force him to start from the pitlane. Although this could be avoided if Mercedes can prove that a change of brake disc supplier does not alter the specification of the car.