Now, here is a headache nobody wants heading into a race weekend: Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto have all been hit with grid penalties for the United States Grand Prix after exceeding their permitted power unit components.
Let us start with Lindblad, who previously started at the back of the grid in Malaysia when Racing Bulls installed his fifth internal combustion engine of the season. Racing Bulls have opted to change this element again, marking his sixth of the four allowed, which leaves Lindblad facing a five-place penalty.
Then there is Colapinto, who is looking to reduce Alpine's deficit to midfield rivals Racing Bulls. Colapinto received a new control electronics unit—his fourth of the campaign—resulting in the Argentine driver losing 10 positions from his Qualifying result.
Audi have made the most alterations to Bortoleto's car. The Brazilian takes his fourth energy store unit and fourth control electronics unit, while a replacement internal combustion engine, turbocharger, exhaust set and power unit ancillary component have also been introduced but remain within the allocation and won't influence his penalty. With a massive 20-place drop coming his way, Bortoleto is likely to start at the back of the field.
As per the regulations, the first time the allocation of any power unit element is exceeded, a 10-place grid penalty is applied, with the second time resulting in a five-place grid drop, with all penalties at the same event applying in a cumulative manner. Furthermore, if a driver incurs a penalty exceeding 15 grid places, they are required to start the race at the back of the field regardless.
Qualifying for the United States Grand Prix gets underway at 1600 local time on Saturday, with lights out in Austin taking place at 1500 on Sunday.
