Vettel to get gearbox grid penalty in Russia

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Sebastian Vettel is set to take a five-place grid penalty at the Russian Grand Prix for changing his gearbox.

The Ferrari driver was involved in first lap contact with team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at the Chinese Grand Prix but recovered to finish the race in second place despite the incident. However, following Friday practice in Russia it was confirmed he will use a new gearbox this weekend.

"[Vettel] did finish the last race in Shanghai and this gearbox change was before the six consecutive Events expired," FIA F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer's report read. "Therefore this is not in compliance with Article 23.6a of the 2016 Formula One Sporting Regulations."

Using a new gearbox before the end of six consecutive events carries an automatic five-place grid penalty which will be applied after qualifying.

Vettel had already endured a tough day on Friday in Russia, stopping on track after just ten laps in FP2 due to an electrical issue.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.