- 12 Apr 12, 09:13#298408Lewis Hamilton will take a five-place grid penalty for the Chinese Grand Prix after confirming that he requires a new gearbox this weekend.
Having started the last two races from pole position Hamilton was favourite to do the same again at Shanghai as McLaren brings a number of upgrades to the race. However, during his Thursday press briefings Hamilton revealed that a problem with his gearbox would mean he would need to replace it and drop five places on the grid after qualifying.
"We just have a gearbox issue so I have to change my gearbox on Saturday morning," Hamilton said. "At least we start with a new gearbox, and I get a five place penalty but hopefully we'll still be quick enough to at least challenge to move forward.
"When you start on pole position then anything less than a win you don't really want to accept. But when you're starting further back then anything moving forward can be accepted. But of course I still want to win, so that's my target still this weekend."
Though he is yet to convert a pole position in to a victory this season, Hamilton said he is confident his chances will be increased this weekend.
"After the last race we went back to the factory, we sat down with all the engineers and we went through particularly our pit stops where we seem to be not the best at the moment. We've worked out and fixed a lot of things that could be or have been a problem so that they can never be a problem again. So hopefully this weekend we'll be much quicker throughout our pit stops.
"I love coming from the back if you've got the ability to come through at least - I don't like starting at the back and not going anywhere - but if you've got a quick car which we do, and hopefully our upgrades will be quite competitive this weekend then we're still in with a fighting chance from wherever I have to start. I'll try to minimise the damage of the grid places by trying to qualify as strong as possible."
Breaking News:Lewis Hamilton has officially overtaken The Fonz in race wins. With 88 races less. Lol(Without a specially built blown diffuser, illegal front wing, preferential treatment)
