Lewis Hamilton grid penalty could make for exciting race in China

Lewis Hamilton faces a tough task if he is to break his duck this season and win the Chinese Grand Prix. The driver was penalised five places on the grid for changing his gearbox and can start no higher than sixth on the grid, even if he sets the fastest lap in qualifying.

With Ferrari now challenging Mercedes, it makes victory for Hamilton a remote possibility.

It is another embarrassment for the sport, which was forced to abandon its new qualifying system last week, after widespread criticism of the timed elimination format.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Hamilton's "penalty just highlights the silliness of the system", says David Coulthard in the Daily Telegraph. But it could lead to an entertaining race: "What could be exciting is if Mercedes are stuck in the pack, because they seem to struggle in traffic. In the first two races Lewis Hamilton has found it hard to making it through the field."

However, the British driver could have better luck passing his rivals in China this weekend. "Hamilton is the master overtaker and Shanghai's long straights are suited to him," says Kevin Eason of The Times. Even so, he "starts the Chinese Grand Prix at a substantial disadvantage to Rosberg, who is 17 points ahead in the rankings after two wins in the first two Grands Prix."

Ferrari topped the second practice session on Friday, after a series of spectacular tyre blowouts in the first, after which, the "drivers held their breath and wondered whether they would be plunged into a new controversy over safety", says Eason. "Pirelli insisted that their tyres are safe and it later transpired that the three blowouts were no more than a coincidence."

Former driver Coulthard is sanguine about the drama. "Tyre blowouts look terrifying, but when you're in a straight line, the centrifugal force actually keeps the tyres in contact with the ground. It grabs your attention but with modern tracks being the way they are, it's not too scary," he writes in the Telegraph.

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso has been cleared to race in Shanghai after missing the last race following his spectacular crash at the Australian Grand Prix.