Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2019

Bottas to start at the back of the grid in Abu Dhabi

2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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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.CarEngineDriverICETCMGU-HMGU-KESCE
26Toro RossoHondaDaniil Kvyat777633
10Toro RossoHondaPierre Gasly755533
55McLarenRenaultCarlos Sainz Jnr655554
27RenaultRenaultNico Hulkenberg644323
23Red BullHondaAlexander Albon555433
11Racing PointMercedesSergio Perez555422
3RenaultRenaultDaniel Ricciardo544434
33Red BullHondaMax Verstappen544333
4McLarenRenaultLando Norris444444
99Alfa RomeoFerrariAntonio Giovinazzi444224
31WilliamsMercedesRobert Kubica444222
77MercedesMercedesValtteri Bottas444222
18Racing PointMercedesLance Stroll444211
7Alfa RomeoFerrariKimi Raikkonen433223
16FerrariFerrariCharles Leclerc433222
63WilliamsMercedesGeorge Russell333233
20HaasFerrariKevin Magnussen333223
5FerrariFerrariSebastian Vettel333223
8HaasFerrariRomain Grosjean333222
44MercedesMercedesLewis Hamilton333222

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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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13 comments on “Bottas to start at the back of the grid in Abu Dhabi”

  1. 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.

    1. @webtel Indeed. 4th at least should neither Sainz nor Gasly score any points.

  2. This means that we will have a non-Mercedes car on the front row in Abu Dhabi for the first time since 2013.

    1. @serr7 And how do you know the other 18 cars won’t also have penalties that relegate them to the back of the grid? ;)

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

    1. 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.

  6. Tough week for Bottas

    1. +1 ….probably been affecting him for past 6 months…. next year hopefully he can sustain his better performances for longer without the personal issues.

  7. 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.

      1. 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.

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