Grosjean set for grid penalty in Germany

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Romain Grosjean will receive a five-place grid penalty for the German Grand Prix as a result of an unscheduled gearbox change.

Early in the final practice session, Grosjean ran off the track at Turn 3 and proceeded to have a very slow lap as he attempted to rectify a gearbox problem. While Grosjean managed to return to the pits, Haas investigated the issue and decided a gearbox change is required.

Taking a new gearbox before the end of the mandatory six consecutive races each one must complete will result in an automatic five-place grid penalty, which will be applied after qualifying.

Grosjean was slowest in the final practice session as a result of the problem, with the Frenchman completing just four laps before being stopped. Haas team-mate Esteban Gutierrez finished FP3 in 13th place, just 0.2s off the top ten.

The Haas was also involved in another incident at the start of the session as Grosjean felt the need to brake in the fast lane of the pit lane after Lewis Hamilton was released in front of him. Mercedes and Hamilton are under investigation for the incident.

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