By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief
Nico Rosberg has received a five-place grid penalty after a crash in FP3 forced the Mercedes team to change his gearbox.
Rosberg enjoyed a banner Friday after dominating both the first and second practice sessions, but halfway through Saturday’s final practice he suffered suspension failure that sent him into the wall off the Turn 2 exit.
The team confirmed that the mechanical failure happened at full throttle under “an unusually high load” on the exit of the curb.
The German currently leads defending Formula 1 champion and teammate Lewis Hamilton by 24 points and is aiming for his third win in succession at the Austrian Grand Prix.
