Malaysia: Five place grid penalty for Barrichello

By Phil Huff
April 4 2009

Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello will start the Malaysian Grand Prix five places further back than expected after the Brazilian was handed a penalty for changing his gearbox.

The Brawn GP car has a Mercedes engine mated to a Honda gearbox, and that appears to be the weakest point of the car. Jenson Button suffered a smaller problem with the gearbox in Australia, but the problem was resolved without resorting to a change.

A gearbox must last for four races in 2009. Any change within that limit gets a five place grid penalty, and that's the penalty handed to Barrichello.