Bottas hit with US gearbox penalty

Valtteri Bottas has been given a five-place grid drop for this afternoon’s 2015 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix after his gearbox failed during qualifying earlier, forcing his Williams team to replace it.

Bottas failed to make the cut for Q3 - subsequently cancelled due to rain - thanks to the issue, and as the gearbox had not completed the required six race cycle, the Finn has been penalised.

It means he will now line up 16th on the provisional grid, with team mate Felipe Massa seventh.

The other drivers to take penalties this weekend are Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, who both drop ten grid places for engine changes, and Marussia’s Will Stevens, who was penalised 20 places for power unit component changes.

The official grid thus reads: Rosberg, Hamilton; Ricciardo, Kvyat; Perez, Hulkenberg; Massa, Verstappen; Alonso, Grosjean; Button, Maldonado; Vettel, Ericsson; Nasr, Bottas; Rossi, Raikkonen; Stevens, Sainz.