Australian GP: Daniel Ricciardo grid penalty after gearbox change
Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo has been handed a five-place grid penalty for Formula 1's season-opening Australian Grand Prix
Ricciardo spun at Turn 14 on his first flying lap in Saturday qualifying's top-10 shootout and backed his RB13 into the tyre barrier, which has prompted Red Bull to change his gearbox.
Teams need to run the same gearbox in six consecutive events, and the five-place penalty for changing it drops Ricciardo from 10th to 15th for his home grand prix.
He acknowledged after qualifying a gearbox change was possible, and admitted he was "hoping for a lot" in the race.
He added: "I didn't use two sets of ultra-softs in Q2, which means I've got a new set for the race - so if I did do a two-stop, then that would work in my favour, perhaps.
"A safety car would make that a bit more nice - so maybe a safety car with about 15 laps to go would be the dream scenario."
Ricciardo's penalty promotes Force India's Sergio Perez to 10th, and elevates Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Marcus Ericsson as well.
Williams rookie Lance Stroll will start the race last after requiring his own gearbox change following his crash in third practice.
The team was summoned to the stewards for not alerting the FIA before making that pre-qualifying change, and given a suspended €25,000 fine.
Romain Grosjean has been fined €1000 for speeding in the pitlane in qualifying, while last-minute Sauber stand-in Antonio Giovinazzi was hit with a €200 fine for the same offence in third practice.
FINAL AUSTRALIAN GP STARTING GRID:
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
3 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6 Romain Grosjean (Haas)
7 Felipe Massa (Williams)
8 Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso)
9 Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
10 Sergio Perez (Force India)
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
12 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
13 Esteban Ocon (Force India)
14 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
15 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
16 Antonio Giovinazzi (Sauber)
17 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
18 Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
19 Jolyon Palmer (Renault)
20 Lance Stroll (Williams)
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