Formula 1

Bottas handed gearbox penalty for Australian GP

1 Mins read

Valtteri Bottas has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after his Williams Martini Racing team were forced to change the gearbox on his FW38 after qualifying.

Williams found damage on the gearbox after the Finn qualified in eleventh, but with the penalty Bottas will now start sixteenth on the grid.

This promotes McLaren-Honda duo Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, Renault pairing Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen, plus the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson up a spot each on the grid, with Bottas now starting in-between the two Sauber F1 Team drivers.

Williams have also been handed a reprimand after failing to submit a set-up sheet for the suspension for Bottas’ car before the qualifying session.

A new automated system that produces the sheet omitted some of the required information for both cars, with the team being informed just over ten minutes before qualifying leaving them with no time to rectify the issue on Bottas’ car, although they did achieve this with the car of Felipe Massa.

13769 posts

About author
Long time motorsport fanatic, covering Formula 1 and the occassional other series. Feel free to give him a follow on Twitter at @Paul11MSport.
Articles
Related posts
Formula 1

2024 Australian Grand Prix - TCF Driver of the Weekend

2 Mins read
TheCheckeredFlag Driver of the Weekend is revealed for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
Formula 1

2024 Australian Grand Prix – What the Team Principals are Saying after the Race

7 Mins read
The ten Team Principals reflect on drivers performances at Albert Park during Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, a race that saw Ferrari claim their first win of 2024.
Formula 1

2024 Australian Grand Prix – What the Drivers are Saying after the Race – Part 2

7 Mins read
Those who missed out on points in Australia reflect on their races, including Max Verstappen, who retired from a Grand Prix for the first time since the same event in 2022.