Two weeks after an all-new powerplant in Belgium, Red Bull has decided to add a new combustion engine to the engine pool in Verstappen, which will lead to a 5-place penalty for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.
Monza was seen as the perfect opportunity to introduce a new powerplant and take on qualifying penalties, as its long straights should be easier to play than the next races in Singapore and Japan.
As such, Verstappen will add a new fifth ICE to his pool with minimal hits.
As widely expected, Verstappen’s teammate Perez has also installed a new V6 engine.
Since this is the first time Perez has exceeded his ICE quota of 3 times, he will be penalized 10 places. Perez also used his fourth gearbox, but it was still within limits.
It was initially revealed on Friday that Ferrari driver Sainz will use a new energy storage, MGU-K and gearbox that will cost him a 25th place start.
Sainz also had new control electronics ahead of FP2, which sparked the Spaniard’s back start.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Photo by Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Either way, Sainz will be joined at the back with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who, as announced Thursday, also gets The fourth powerplant of the season.
Yuki Tsunoda will also start at the back of the grid. Last week, the AlphaTauri driver was handed a 10-place grid penalty for his fifth reprimand of the season at Zandvoort, and he was penalized for unbuckling his seatbelt and driving to the pits after stopping on the track.
In any case, Kakuda was awarded a penalty and AlphaTauri took the opportunity to give him a new power unit.
Kakuta’s day got worse when a three-place penalty for failing to slow down was enough for a yellow flag in FP2, caused by Mick Schumahcer’s injured Haas. The Japanese driver also picked up two penalty points, bringing his total to eight over the past 12 months.
Finally, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas also turned F1’s wheel of fortune, ranking 15- for buying new ICE, turbo and MGU-H from Ferrari decline.
Charles Leclerc gets a boost for his chance to win his second Italian Grand Prix on Ferrari’s home soil as his direct opponent receives a penalty Penalties from Enns, Perez and Hamilton made it easier for Verstappen to get to the front.
