Five penalty places for Hamilton in China

The consequences of the collision at the first corner in Bahrain between Valtteri Bottas (Williams) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) were not confined to the only event contested on the Sakhir route. Mercedes announced on the sidelines of the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend that it had made a gearbox change on car n°44 of the triple world champion, leading in fact a penalty of five places on the grid for the Briton.

“Lewis Hamilton's gearbox suffered damage in Bahrain which required a full inspection and assessment. As a result, the decision was made to change the box rather than take any risks. Of the next four tracks coming up on the calendar, Shanghai is the best place to make this change and take the penalty. » said the German team on his Twitter account.

Lewis Hamilton is currently in second place in the championship, 17 points behind his teammate Nico Rosberg, winner of the first two Grands Prix, in Australia and Bahrain. Hamilton, however, remains on two consecutive victories in Shanghai in 2014 and 2015.