Romain Grosjean struck with five-place grid penalty

Romain Grosjean has incurred a five-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s United States Grand Prix, after a gearbox issue was discovered on the Frenchman’s Lotus towards the end of practice three earlier today. This is the second time in which Grosjean has incurred a gearbox-related penalty, after the German Grand Prix back in July.

As the third and final practice session drew to a conclusion around the Circuit of the Americas, Romain Grosjean lost fourth gear on his Renault-powered Lotus E21, which in turn forced his mechanics to change the gearbox ahead of the all-important qualifying hour at Austin. This will see the Frenchman drop down the order after qualifying, and means he will be unable to qualify any higher than 6th.

Romain Grosjean failed to finish the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last time out, and is still unconfirmed at Lotus for next season. The Frenchman will therefore be striving to impress throughout the final two races, without causing any further opening lap incidences such as Japan or Belgium.

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