Michael Schumacher handed Bahrain GP five-place penalty

Mercedes's Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher has been handed a five-place penalty on the starting grid for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

The German was punished after an unscheduled gearbox change and drops to 22nd place on the grid.

The seven-time world champion, 43, was set to start in 17th after his qualifying session was hampered by a problem with his rear wing system.

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado has also been given a five-place penalty for a similar gearbox change.

The move compounds Schumacher's troubles after he failed to make it out of Saturday's opening 20-minute qualifying session following a failure with his drag reduction system.