Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso, Circuit of the Americas, 2018

Power unit penalty sends Gasly to back of the grid again

2018 Mexican Grand Prix

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Pierre Gasly is set to start at the back of the grid for the third time in four races due to a power unit penalty.

The Toro Rosso driver has taken his eighth engine, turbo-charger and MGU-H for this weekend’s race. He has therefore incurred a 15-place grid penalty.

No other drivers have changed power unit components in time for the start of first practice.

Power unit components used so far

No.CarEngineDriverICETCMGU-HMGU-KESCE
28Toro RossoHondaBrendon Hartley888734
10Toro RossoHondaPierre Gasly888633
27RenaultRenaultNico Hulkenberg565444
3Red BullTAG HeuerDaniel Ricciardo555544
14McLarenRenaultFernando Alonso444433
33Red BullTAG HeuerMax Verstappen444433
77MercedesMercedesValtteri Bottas444333
55RenaultRenaultCarlos Sainz Jnr444333
2McLarenRenaultStoffel Vandoorne444333
9SauberFerrariMarcus Ericsson433232
8HaasFerrariRomain Grosjean333222
20HaasFerrariKevin Magnussen333222
31SauberFerrariCharles Leclerc333222
5FerrariFerrariSebastian Vettel333222
44MercedesMercedesLewis Hamilton333222
11Force IndiaMercedesSergio Perez333222
31Force IndiaMercedesEsteban Ocon333222
18WilliamsMercedesLance Stroll333222
35WilliamsMercedesSergey Sitorkin333222
7FerrariFerrariKimi Raikkonen333222

ICE: Internal Combustion EngineTC: Turbocharger
MGU-K: Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic
MGU-H: Moto Generator Unit: Heat
ES: Energy Store
CE: Control Electronics

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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14 comments on “Power unit penalty sends Gasly to back of the grid again”

  1. So, comparative testing of two specs of engine? Hmm.

    1. Definitely something out of the ordinary afoot. Not that strange, I suppose, considering there’s still only one team running Honda engines. That must be a significant disadvantage data wise, at the very least.

    2. On Sky they mentioned something like that – but the new one not being reliable (yet) to feel safe running it in a race.

    3. Wow, i just heard Ted mentioning that the reason they had to build it out was because the engine was not bolted together quite right and tight …

      Talking about quality control and build quality. Yup, quite like what McLaren experienced only too often with Honda

  2. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/139658/red-bull-honda-relations-now-better-than-renault

    Call me evil, but I can’t wait to see the fireworks next year, probably from the first race of the season, snce that’s just about how much patience Red Bull has shown to have for their engine partners.

    Remember, they were constantly throwing Renault under the bus, even when they were winning and despite Renault coming up with the revolutionary engine diffuser blowing system.

    1. Verstappen will be like Alonso… Complaining while entertaining us

  3. As Martha would say … “This is a good thing.”
    One of the issues (as I understand it) that Honda ran into with McLaren was harmonic vibrations within the engine. This didn’t show up on the dyno, but was a BIG issue when connected to the car. There have been a few notes of late that they are still working on this. Problem not yet solved.
    With the restrictions on testing, that means real running in a real car at race speeds, the only way they can test new and hopefully improved parts, is in races. Hence the propensity to change engines, sorry, power units, on a regular basis.
    Expectation is for Honda to continue this mo and bring further upgrades over the next two races as well. As for the drivers starting at the back …. all the time, well, it builds character.
    One of the beefs that Red Bull has had with Renault is a lack of replacement parts. CH is regularly mentioning that they “may” have enough parts in the system to put a package together to run and to avoid penalties. Hopefully Honda has a more realistic policy on parts availability in place next year.

    1. Well, Renault will have two fewer engines to supply next year; that should take care of any parts availability issues ………

  4. Unsurprising.

  5. Lol Can’t wait to hear more BS from VER about how awesome Honda is.

  6. I’m wondering if it is another new spec of PU… I wouldn’t surprise me if they are trialling more powerful PU’s for next season…

  7. One for the Toro Rosso Playlist:
    “Couldn’t Get It Right” by Climax Blues Band.

  8. It seems Honda hasn’t been bragging but Torro Rosso. Franz Todst has been spouting off all season rubbing it into Alonso and McLaren but so far not much to show for it.

    Now Marko is proclaiming they will be in the fight for the championship next year after Horner claimed they wouldn’t a few weeks back. He also said he feels sorry for Dan as he will have to deal with failures for the next 2 years.

    Perhaps Marko will have the same problems next year – he would be wise to wait before spouting off. The pressure must be mounting on Honda. Torro has been great but RBR is a very different animal.

    It will be very interesting to see how Max acts if these kind of issues are still happening next year. Honda will not have to be perfect, but even if they have a few failures they will get blasted by golden boy and Marko.

    Not a fan of this team so I hope the Renault and RIC hand them their @$$.

  9. the more things change, the more they stay the same….nothing to see here…..move along folks

Comments are closed.