Tsunoda hit with grid penalty for exceeding his PU allocation

RB racer Yuki Tsunoda will start this weekend’s race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps from the rear of the field after having exceeding his power unit allocation.

Current F1 power units feature seven elements: the internal combustion engine (ICE), motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), turbocharger, energy store (ES), control electronics (CE) and exhaust.

Over the course of the 2024 season, a driver may use no more than four ICEs, MGU-Hs, MGU-Ks and turbochargers, two energy stores and control electronics, and eight of each of the four elements that make up a set of exhaust systems (comprising primaries left-hand side, primaries right-hand side, secondary LHS and secondary RHS).

The Visa Cash RB team has now confirmed a raft of new elements for Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver is now on a fifth ICE, turbocharger, MGU-H and MGU-K as well as his third energy store and third set of control electronics.

The RB man has exceeded his allocation which will move him to the back of the grid at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

Speaking of his expectations for the Spa F1 weekend, Tsunoda said: "Reflecting on his time at the Hungaroring, Tsunoda noted: “We really turned things around in Hungary.

“The whole team worked very hard to give us an improved car and we were particularly happy with how we managed the tyres in the race, which meant we were the only car to make a one-stop strategy work, that was really the key to score points.

"It was brilliant strategy and teamwork! That last race was a real confidence boost, so I’m keen to see what we can do in Spa which is obviously a very different type of track."