Valtteri Bottas is set to start this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the back of the grid following a power unit change.
The Mercedes driver retired from the last in Brazil after a problem developed on his power unit. The team has confirmed he will have a new engine, turbo and MGU-H this weekend.That will put him over the maximum number of power unit parts he is allowed, meaning he will have to start the race from the back of the grid.
Bottas’s penalty means all of the Mercedes-powered drivers apart from his team mate Lewis Hamilton have had to take grid penalties due to power unit parts changes this year.
George Russell was the first to do so, in France. The Racing Point drivers did in the first two races after the summer break: Lance Stroll in Belgium, Sergio Perez in Italy. Robert Kubica took a power unit grid penalty at the Russian Grand Prix.
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Engine components used so far
| No. | Car | Engine | Driver | ICE | TC | MGU-H | MGU-K | ES | CE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Toro Rosso | Honda | Daniil Kvyat | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 | Toro Rosso | Honda | Pierre Gasly | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| 55 | McLaren | Renault | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 27 | Renault | Renault | Nico Hulkenberg | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 23 | Red Bull | Honda | Alexander Albon | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Racing Point | Mercedes | Sergio Perez | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Renault | Renault | Daniel Ricciardo | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 33 | Red Bull | Honda | Max Verstappen | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | McLaren | Renault | Lando Norris | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 99 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | Antonio Giovinazzi | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 31 | Williams | Mercedes | Robert Kubica | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 77 | Mercedes | Mercedes | Valtteri Bottas | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 18 | Racing Point | Mercedes | Lance Stroll | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | Kimi Raikkonen | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | Ferrari | Ferrari | Charles Leclerc | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 63 | Williams | Mercedes | George Russell | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 20 | Haas | Ferrari | Kevin Magnussen | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Ferrari | Ferrari | Sebastian Vettel | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | Haas | Ferrari | Romain Grosjean | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 44 | Mercedes | Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
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Nitzo (@webtel)
28th November 2019, 9:28
Nice. We’ll get to see some overtakes after all.
Also gives a good chance for Albon to finish higher in the race and secure sixth place in the championship…albeit there are a few caveats for that to happen.
Hope we get an on track battle between Carlos and Albon.
Jere (@jerejj)
28th November 2019, 10:04
@webtel Indeed. 4th at least should neither Sainz nor Gasly score any points.
Serban7 (@serr7)
28th November 2019, 9:44
This means that we will have a non-Mercedes car on the front row in Abu Dhabi for the first time since 2013.
Ninjenius (@ninjenius)
28th November 2019, 10:17
@serr7 And how do you know the other 18 cars won’t also have penalties that relegate them to the back of the grid? ;)
JohnH (@johnrkh)
28th November 2019, 12:14
Bottas has shown he is not keen at overtaking so far this yr. So it will be interesting to see how far up the field he can make before the flag. All of the teams will be going for it…should be exciting.
Only Facts!
28th November 2019, 12:54
Bottas will have a fresh engine. Leclerc’s is one race old. Verstappen’s is 2 races old if you don’t count Japan.
Time to see who’s who on raw power in qualifying. It’s the last one, no worries!
At the race, let them loose. It’s only 300km for an engine designed to last 5000km.
Besides 3rd place WDC and Ferrari multi 1-2, another good reason to stay grounded next Sunday.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
28th November 2019, 13:22
The frustrating thing for Bottas may be that if Hamilton was having the bad luck at this stage of the season, Bottas actually very likely would have out scored him. When the USA race was over, Hamilton had only scored 2 more points than Bottas since the summer break. Even now, Hamilton has still only scored 9 more and we should factor in that Bottas had to retire last time out.
If Bottas hadn’t been having this bad luck last time out and the penalty here, he may actually have outscored Hamilton in the second half of the season, which is quite something really. But he will need to perform well more often to keep this up.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
28th November 2019, 13:25
Just to add, he did have a bit of a dip in the middle, but then also had an excellent start. I think it has to be said that this is his best season at Mercedes. I personally think it is pretty likely that Mercedes will keep him for more than one season. He is an ideal number 2 driver at least and has more often started to get better results than Hamilton this year.
Scalextric (@scalextric)
28th November 2019, 13:36
Tough week for Bottas
WarfieldF1 (@warfieldf1)
28th November 2019, 13:55
+1 ….probably been affecting him for past 6 months…. next year hopefully he can sustain his better performances for longer without the personal issues.
Islander
28th November 2019, 17:35
Seb started from the back in 2013 and made the podium easy.
And his RB was nowhere as fast as the merc Bottas is driving.
Islander
28th November 2019, 17:36
2012
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
28th November 2019, 20:00
Overtaking difficulties are far worse than they were back then, and I don’t know if i agree with what you are saying.
I agree literally. This car will be far faster that Red Bull was then. But Ferrari and Red Bull are so often challenging Mercedes that Hamilton often can’t beat them. I expect Mercedes to probably have a bit more of an advantage here, but I with the overtaking difficulties and how good ferrari and Red Bull are, it will be a tough job for Bottas to get a podium without a load of luck. Would likely be the same with any driver. This track is awful for overtaking.
Hamilton was very likely faster than Bottas here in 2017, but he just couldn’t get by.