Gearbox grid penalty adds to Vettel's pain

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel is set to start Sunday’s race in Spain from a lowly 15th place after Red Bull had to change the gearbox on his car following his problems in qualifying.

Vettel qualified 10th in Barcelona after coming to halt on track early in Q3 with transmission issues. The German will now drop to 15th thanks to the five-place grid penalty applicable when a gearbox fails to last six consecutive events.

It means Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen all move up one in the starting order, to places 10 to 14 respectively.