Four drivers to receive grid penalties – technical news
Four drivers have taken engine components outside the pool of their allocations and will drop down on the grid for today’s 56-lap United States Grand Prix.
For this season, FIA has changed the rules concerning the way drivers can use gearboxes throughout the championship. The 2022 rules split the gearboxes into two parts: casing & cassette and the internal components.
The new rules enforce a four casing and cassette limit on the cars taking part in the championship and the same numerical limit will be imposed on the components within the gearbox cassette itself.
Since last year, the power units consists of seven parts: internal combustion engine, turbocharger, motor generator unit – heat, motor generator unit – kinetic, energy store, control electronics with the exhaust system having been added to this list last year.
During the current season, drivers are allowed to use 3 ICE, 3 TC, 3 MGU-H, 3 MGU-K, 2 ES, 2 CE and 8 EX without penalty. When the use exceeds these amounts of power unit elements, the driver of that car will receive grid penalties in the following race.
With the long calendar for the 2022 season and the reliability issues teams have faced so far this season, multiple drivers have decided to take engine components outside the pool of their allocations.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has received a 10-place grid penalty in Austin as the Scuderia has fitted to his F1-75 the sixth of three allocated internal combustion engines (ICE) and the sixth of three allocated turbochargers. The Monegasque qualified second yesterday, but will line up in P12 on today’s grid.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez has received a five-place grid penalty for the 2022 United States Grand Prix after taking his fifth internal combustion engine of the season. The Mexican grabbed P4 in yesterday’s qualifying session, but the penality will demote him to P9.
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has endured the same fate as he will be demoted five places on the grid at the Circuit of The Americas as Alpine have fitted to his car a sixth ICE. The Spaniard secured P9 yesterday, but the penality will push him back to P14 on the grid.
Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu has also received a five-place grid penalty for today’s race after taking his fifth internal combustion engine in 2022. Formula One’s first Chinese driver will therefore start today from P19.
Perez, as well as team mate Max Verstappen, have also taken their seventh of eight allocated exhausts, but that will not result in a penalty.
Mercedes driver George Russell and Williams racer Alex Albon have taken their fourth of four allocated gearboxes and related components for this weekend.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly has run a gearbox assembly outside of the RNC allocation during the first and second free practice session, but it was the first of the four occasions permitted for 2022, and will therefore not trigger a penalty.
