Grid penalty in Japan for Button
2012-10-02 09:58
STARTING DOWN FIVE: McLaren's Jenson Button was struck by the same gearbox troubles that forced his team mate Lewis Hamilton to retire from the recent Singapore F1 GP.
McLaren's Jenson Button will take a five-place penalty on the grid for the 2012 Japanese F1 GP (October 5-7) thanks to an unscheduled gearbox change, his Formula 1 team has said.
The Briton, who won at Suzuka in 2011, finished second in Singapore two weeks earlier but McLaren discovered after the race that his car's gearbox had the same problem. that forced team mate Lewis Hamilton to quit from the same race.
WORK AT CATCHING ALONSO
Button is a long shot for the title - sixth overall and 75 points behind Ferrari's championship leader Fernando Alonso - with six races remaining.
Hamilton, the 2008 champion who has announced his departure for Mercedes at the end of the 2012 season, will also have a new gearbox but escapes any penalty due to his failure to finish in Singapore.