Leclerc due to start with new gearbox, Sainz set to compete with new PU component in Mexico City
With the season nearing its closing stages, drivers have started to add their last elements of their power unit and gearbox allocation to their pool. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo reports on who will compete today with fresh gearbox or power unit components in Mexico City.
In 2014, the championship saw the introduction of a revised engine formula. The previous 2.4-litre V8 engine configuration that was used between 2006 and 2013 was replaced with a new formula that revolved around a 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engine that incorporated an energy recovery system.
The sporting regulation regarding the number of permitted power unit components and their development allowance have been updated on multiple occasions since 2014.
Currently, development of the power units is not allowed as they have been frozen since the start of 2022. It means that teams need to use their current power units until the end of the 2025 season, with the following year set to see the introduction of all-new engine regulations.
The current generation of F1 power units features seven different 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. Furthermore, drivers are restricted to 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).
For the Mexican Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has received a new exhaust system. It will be the sixth EX for the Spaniard, who secured the pole position for today's race in Mexico in dominant fashion, leaving him with tho more exhaust systems to see out the last five races of the season.
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon will also race today with a new exhaust system. However, this unit is his last one, meaning that he will not have any new exhaust systems to use in the dying stages of the season.
As far as the gearboxes are concerned, over the course of the 2024 F1 season, drivers have to get around with an allocation of five gearbox cassettes and internals.
Four drivers will compete today at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with a new gearbox case and internals: Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc and Zhou Guanyu.
For the two Aston Martin drivers, it will be their fourth gearbox of the season, which means that he still have one more unit to add to their pool. However, the Ferrari and the Sauber driver have already used four gearbox units so far in 2024, which means that they need to compete with this new one and the previous ones in the remaining five races.
