Nico Rosberg set to drop five grid positions for a gearbox change

Nico Rosberg has become the latest driver to incur a 5-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, after suffering a gearbox issue during the third and final practice session earlier this morning. Rosberg eventually ended the third session 24th and last, with only a 01:58.113 set by the German.

After heavy rain plagued proceedings yesterday, many teams and drivers were itching to take to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the third practice session with an aim of making up for lost time in preparation for qualifying. With Nico Rosberg unable to complete a whole dry session for Mercedes, the German could well be at a disadvantage in comparison to his competitors once qualifying gets underway this afternoon.

Nico Rosberg currently sits 6th in the Drivers’ Championship, with 77 points scored which has included one victory so far this season. With the high speed nature of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Mercedes were confident of a competitive result this weekend. A decent result is still possible during tomorrow’s race, however it is undeniable that Mercedes and Nico Rosberg will suffer a uphill struggle throughout the all-important qualifying session.

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