Alonso, Vandoorne set for grid penalties in Baku

The Japanese manufacturer has endured recurring problems with its MGU-H this season, Vandoorne suffering the latest failure in Canada practice.

Honda had a countermeasure part but chose to wait until Baku, where it expects to struggle given the track layout, rather than change in Canada to avoid taking the penalty there.

As a result of the new MGU-H change in Baku, both drivers will run new turbochargers.

It will be the sixth of each component for both drivers, triggering a 15-place grid penalty.

Honda said it plans to replace Vandoorne's power unit - except the control electronics and the energy store system - after second practice.

Vandoorne will switch to its third combustion engine and will get a further 15 places in penalties as a result of a change to the MGU-H and the turbocharger, his seventh of the season.

"We have some penalties already to start the weekend, which is not ideal, but this is the situation we are in," Vandoorne said in the pre-event press conference.

"We will try to do our best, focus maybe a bit more on race runs and hopefully we can play a bit during the race.

"We are probably competing to start from the back of the grid."

When it was asked if the new parts will bring more performance, Vandoorne said: "Difficult to say to be honest, I think probably more a question for Honda. I don’t think it will be too different."

Alonso will also run with a new internal combustion engine, the fourth and final component of his allocation, following his failure in Canada when he was running 10th.

Honda will test a series of new components during Friday practice and will then assess driveability and mapping before making a decision as to whether to run them for the remainder of the weekend.