F1: Lewis Hamilton given grid penalty

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Lewis Hamilton will take a five-place grid penalty ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix after, his team Mercedes having being forced to change the 2008 title winner’s gearbox after the third free practice session.

Hamilton’s WO4 suffered a left-rear puncture in the closing stages of final practice, as well as incurring suspension damage in a weekend where Mercedes have struggled to match the pace of the front runners.

Hamilton will be the third driver to incur a grid penalty this weekend in Bahrain along with Mark Webber and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez who face three and five place grid drops following incidents over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.