By alley - Jul 20, 2014, 5:00 AM ET

Hamilton to take gearbox penalty

The Mercedes Formula 1 team has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will need to change his gearbox following his qualifying crash at the German Grand Prix.

The team was unsure about the extent of the damage caused when a

brake disc failure

pitched Hamilton off the track and into the barriers at the Sachskurve in Q1.

But on Sunday morning, Mercedes said that Hamilton would require a new gearbox, which will result in a five place grid penalty.

The gearbox change will provisionally move Hamilton down to 20th on the grid, although the team is still awaiting confirmation from the FIA about whether a change of brake disc specification will

force him to start from the pitlane

.

Originally on Autosport.com