MARCH 23, 2012

Grid penalty for Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen will lose five places on the Malaysian GP grid after needing a gearbox change after the first day of free practice in Malaysia.

Kimi Raikkonen will lose five places on the Malaysian GP grid after needing a gearbox change after the first day of free practice in Malaysia.

The F1 rules demand that gearboxes must last five grands prix before they can be changed without penalty. Raikkonen's gearbox, however, overheated in the closing stages of Melbourne but the team was confident that it was in a serviceable condition for Malaysia.

After closer inspection today, however, it was decided to change the unit.

Raikkonen was seventh in first practice in Malaysia but dropped to 15th in the second session, some 0.38s slower than team mate Romain Grosjean.