Nico Rosberg was forced to take a five-place grid penalty as a result of damage sustained from his accident during the third free practice session. This means that it will be more difficult for him to challenge his teammate, who sits on the front row of the grid for the race.
The accident occurred on the exit of turn two when Rosberg got a little too much of the kerb on the exit of the corner and broke his left-rear suspension. The car was then sent into the outside barrier, while Rosberg attempted to save it. The car received heavy damage and was unable to continue the session, having only completed 16 laps.
Nico Rosberg discusses the day:
“It was a huge team effort today, with both sides of the garage working together to get my damaged car ready for qualifying. It was a tricky session with the rain and the perfect lap didn’t quite come together which meant Lewis was quicker. The five place grid penalty will be costly as Lewis will start from the front tomorrow and it will be tough to fight through the other cars with the ultra-soft. It will definitely be an exciting race, though, and there’s still a lot to play for.”
Rosberg’s gearbox was damaged during the accident and the team was forced to replace the gearbox and suffer a five-place grid penalty for the unscheduled change. The mechanics in the garage and at the factory worked hard between the free practice three and qualifying sessions to investigate the failure from the morning and make the necessary changes to both Mercedes cars in order to prevent the issue from occurring again.
Nico Rosberg will start from sixth on the grid, while his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, has the pole position. Nico Hülkenberg will start alongside Hamilton on the front row of the grid.
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