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Lewis Hamilton has been hit with a five-place grid penalty for the Austrian Grand Prix, following an unauthorised gearbox change. Cars are required to run six races with a gearbox before it can be changed, however, Mercedes has been forced to swap the component early.
The gearbox was reportedly damaged in Baku two weeks ago, and the Silver Arrows will now fit a new for the Grand Prix this weekend. It comes with a severe blow to Hamilton and his hopes of clawing into the championship lead rival Sebastian Vettel has.
Speaking before the news of his grid demotion broke, Hamilton told reporters: "The car felt good. It was a pretty good day. The track felt pretty good from the get go, the grip was amazing from the start. We had a good baseline to start with and we kept chipping away at it.
"We are going to work hard tonight to try and find some more performance. I got the car to the limit and we'll now look at the weaknesses to improve. We generally do improve Friday to Saturday."
A note from the FIA's Jo Bauer said: "The above driver did finish the last race in Baku and this gearbox change was before the six consecutive Events expired.
"As this is not in compliance with Article 23.5a of the 2017 Formula One Sporting Regulations, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration. The team informed the technical delegate about the gearbox change on Tuesday, 04th July 2017, at 11:29 hours."
CONFIRMED: @LewisHamilton will take a five-place grid penalty for the #AustrianGP after a gearbox change @F1 pic.twitter.com/1gua4HQ0g3
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 7, 2017
Fergal Walsh
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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f1fan0101
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This will make the race on Sunday exciting!