Hamilton to start at 20 on grid
Lewis Hamilton has been hit with a five-place grid penalty ahead of the German Grand Prix.
Hamilton crashed into a tyre barrier with a 30g impact during the initial qualifying session at Hockenheim following a right-front brake disc failure, severely damaging his Mercedes.
Following an overnight assessment, the team have been forced to change the gearbox on Hamilton’s car, resulting in the grid drop from 15th to 20th.
Via Twitter, the team said: “We can confirm Lewis Hamilton’s gearbox will be changed for the race owing to accident damage incurred yesterday. 5 place penalty.
We can now confirm @LewisHamilton will be starting from 20th on the grid this afternoon. Buckle up! #GoetzeStarQuality
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 20, 2014
“The guys are working on the car now to repair everything for the race. It’s going to be a busy morning!”
It is certain Mercedes will also switch to a different brand of brakes, as was suggested by motorsport boss Toto Wolff following a session in which Hamilton’s team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg qualified on pole.
It was the second severe failure from brake manufacturer Brembo this season, leading Wolff to claim Hamilton would likely move to the team’s other supplier, Carbon Industrie.
It was initially understood that would lead to a pit lane start, but according to the sporting regulations a team is allowed to change a part that is “similar in mass, inertia and function to the original” without penalty.
