Valtteri Bottas will start this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after being penalised for exceeding his allocation of power unit parts.
The Alfa Romeo driver has a new Ferrari engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K and control electronics, all of which exceed his limit for though components. He team also fitted a new exhaust for the 11th round of the championship.Any driver who accumulates a grid drop of more than 15 places is automatically required to start the grand prix from the back of the field. The penalty applies to Sunday’s grand prix only and does not affect Bottas’s starting position for Saturday’s sprint race.
Several other drivers have also had new power unit components fitted this weekend without incurring penalties. They include Lando Norris, who has a new Mercedes engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K and exhaust in his McLaren.
Bottas’s team mate Zhou Guanyu has new control electronics this weekend. Ferrari have also replaced Charles Leclerc’s energy store and Mick Schumacher has a new exhaust.
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Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
8th July 2022, 13:07
Well, that new Mercedes PU in the McLaren didn’t appear to last particularly well …
S
8th July 2022, 14:48
So much for the justification that a standard spec engine would be more reliable.
They are going through more engines now than they were 10 years ago.
Here we are at exactly halfway through the calendar, and Bottas has already exceeded his limit for almost every part…
MichaelN
8th July 2022, 15:19
Bottas’ average qualifying position is 10th, so he’ll lose about 8-12 position for breaking the limit on the maximum number of parts for the whole season, before the season is even half done. That doesn’t sound like much of a penalty. The only people really hurt by these engine penalties are the likes of Norris, Mercedes, and Alpine. The top teams are going to fly past the also-rans anyway even starting last, and those further back will barely notice the difference from their usual starting position.