Jenson Button faces five-place grid penalty for gearbox change ahead of Japanese GP – Formula 1 news
McLaren driver, Jenson Button will have to face five-place grid penalty in the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix because of an unscheduled gearbox change.
Button and his teammate, Lewis Hamilton both have changed their gearboxes, however only the former will face the grid penalty in the race ahead as latter was retired in the Singapore GP due to a gearbox issue.
Paddy Lowe, the technical director of the Woking based team has said that after thorough investigation they have found out that Button’s gearbox had the same problem with which Hamilton was came across at Marina Bay Street Circuit.
“Jenson's gearbox had the same problem as Lewis's gearbox during the Singapore Grand Prix, and subsequent investigation has revealed a terminal failure,” technical director Paddy Lowe told Autosport.
Thus, he insisted that they have decided to change the gearbox of their drivers so as to eliminate the element of risk in the forthcoming race and to be able to score competitive points in the championship fight.
“Therefore both cars must start the Japanese Grand Prix with new gearboxes, which means that Jenson will receive a five-place penalty,” he added.
The British squad is currently standing at second place in the constructors’ championship with 261 points. Besides, they are ahead of Ferrari and behind Red Bull Racing. Even though, the defending champions have a strong lead over them, nevertheless, they
are confidently looking forward to come up stronger in the remainder of the season.
It will be important to mention that despite facing the five-place grid penalty, the 2009 world champion is confidently looking forward to attain promising result in the next race. In addition, he has expressed that this weekend’s race is very important
for him as he has always enjoyed racing in Japan.
“As everybody knows, Japan means a lot to me. It's a place I love, I've been here so many times - for business and pleasure - and I still feel that wide-eyed awe and deep emotion for a country that exists so comfortably on so many different levels,” he said.
Let’s see how the British drivers perform at Suzuka this weekend.
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