Raikkonen Hit with Grid Penalty Following Gearbox Change

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief

Kimi Raikkonen’s hopes to challenge Mercedes and deliver Ferrari’s first win of the season have taken a hit as he will drop from third on the Japanese Grand Prix grid to eighth place as a result of an unscheduled gearbox change.

The 36-year-old Finn showed surprising pace in qualifying to take third place, bettering teammate Sebastian Vettel who ended up fourth but had a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision in Malaysia last weekend.

However, Ferrari had to change Raikkonen’s gearbox ahead of the race, which carries a five-place grid penalty.

“The gearbox of car number 07, driver Kimi Räikkönen, was replaced for a new one,” FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer said in a statement.

“The gearbox has been replaced with the approval of the FIA technical delegate following a written request from the team concerned (requested on 09 October 2016 at 09:04 hours), this being in accordance with Article 34.2 of the 2016 Formula One Sporting Regulations.

“The gearbox change was before the six consecutive Events expired. Therefore this is not in compliance with Article 23.6a of the 2016 Formula One Sporting Regulations and I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”

With penalties to both Ferrari drivers now served, the Red Bull Racing duo of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will occupy row two on the grid.

About Joey Barnes 596 Articles
Joey Barnes is the Founder of Motorsports Tribune, an outlet that began with the goal of helping aspiring journalists break into and grow the industry. A regular on the racing scene since 2013, the journey for Joey started by covering a Grand-Am event at Circuit of The Americas in his home state of Texas. He has since primarily focused on the IndyCar Series, with appearances in the garages of NASCAR, paddocks of Formula 1, IMSA and World Endurance Championship, while also occasionally engulfing clouds of dust at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and select Supercross rounds. With previous stops at Autoweek, IndyCar.com, Motorsport.com and RACER, among others, Joey evolved from the singular task as a freelance writer to advanced roles behind the copy desk and alongside some of the best editorial teams in the business. Recognized as a multi-time award winner by the National Motorsports Press Association, Joey currently resides in Dallas-Fort Worth with his trusty four-legged canine companion, Rocket.

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