Mercedes' chances of securing a strong result on home soil at Hockenheim on Saturday have been compromised by the news that Nico Rosberg will carry a five-place grid penalty into Qualifying.
The Brackley-based team discovered a problem with the gearbox Rosberg raced at the last round at Silverstone and have been forced to make an out-of-sequence change for this weekend, meaning the German driver will pick up the mandatory five-place grid demotion.
The penalty means Rosberg can start no higher than sixth on Sunday's grid, although Mercedes may fancy their chances of minimising the damage given they are hopeful their W03 is set to perform strongly this weekend.
Rosberg finished the day in second place on the timesheet and believes the team can approach the weekend with optimism.
"We learned a lot today as we were able to test in the different track conditions, and use the wet, intermediate and dry tyres," he said.
"So I guess we are well prepared for whatever the weekend brings.
"Unfortunately we have to change my race gearbox here as a precaution after discovering an issue after Silverstone. So I will receive a five-place penalty which is a shame for our home race but I will push hard to gain a good result. As we have seen this season, a lot can happen in the race."
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean carries the same penalty into the weekend after his team also had to change his British GP gearbox.
