Lewis Hamilton will start this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix no higher than P6 after the Mercedes driver was hit with a five-spot grid penalty following a gearbox change.
Both Silver Arrows drivers will run new gearboxes for Saturday's FP3 session, but Valtteri Bottas, who already underwent a transmission swap in Australia, is allowed a free change for this weekend.
Reports from the paddock state that Mercedes detected a hydraulic leak on Hamilton's W09 in Melbourne, with a subsequent investigation in Bahrain this week revealing a damaged bearing.
Hamilton and Bottas ended FP2 third and fourth, over half a second off Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Regardless of where the British driver qualifies on Saturday, he will no doubt have his work cut out to even the score with arch-rival and Melbourne victor Sebastian Vettel on Sunday.
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