Penalty for Button in Japanese GP

Jenson Button will have to take a five-place grid penalty at the Japanese GP following an unscheduled gearbox change to his McLaren car.

The news is a hefty blow to Button's hopes of victory and follows a series of technical failings which have bedeviled his McLaren team in the last month with Button retiring from second place at Monza and current team-mate Lewis Hamilton forced out of the Singapore GP while leading the race when his gearbox failed.

According to Autosport, Button's gearbox has now also been changed after analysis determined that it would suffer the same race-ending shutdown as Hamilton's two weeks ago.