Lewis Hamilton will start the Chinese Grand Prix five places down from wherever he qualifies after Mercedes was forced to change his gearbox ahead of the race weekend.
Under F1's regulations, drivers must use the same gearbox for six consecutive races and any change results in a five-place grid penalty. The team said Hamilton's gearbox had sustained damage at the Bahrain Grand Prix and after a physical inspection in China, it decided to fit a new one for the upcoming weekend.
"This is the best circuit to do so in the first six race cycle as overtaking is easier here compared to the coming tracks, so the overall impact of the grid penalty is judged to be less here in Shanghai," a team spokesman said.
Hamilton is already 17 points behind team-mate Nico Rosberg in the championship and the gearbox penalty presents a great opportunity for Rosberg to extend his lead this weekend. Hamilton took pole position at the opening two rounds of the season, but a repeat performance will only result in sixth on the grid in Shanghai.