Formula 1 Mexican GP
Tsunoda, Stroll set for F1 grid penalties after engine changes
Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll will take grid penalties for power unit changes, meaning they will start from the back of the grid for the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix.
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Feb 11, 2022, 5:46 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Both Tsunoda and Stroll are taking a fourth internal combustion engine, turbocharger and MGU-H for the event from their respective engine manufacturers Honda and Mercedes.
Tsunoda will also use a fourth MGU-K system, while Stroll will add a third suite of control electronics to his pool.
With the engine limit at three per season, that means both drivers will drop to the back of the grid for the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Both drivers will also take a new exhaust, as will Red Bull's home driver Sergio Perez. Perez will move to his seventh exhaust system if 2021, but as the limit is set at eight units per season it will not cost him grid places for his home race.
Tsunoda and Stroll are not the first drivers to have taken grid penalties in the 2021 season for using more power units than allowed.
With both championship contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen also having taken penalties at previous events, the debate on whether grid penalties are the right solution to limit engine usage has reignited in recent weeks.
Both drivers are hopeful they can make it through the remaining five races without further issues, although Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted his side has struggled with reliability this season, with the team's second driver Valtteri Bottas already on six engines for the season.
"I think you see that we are suffering with reliability this year," said Wolff at the US Grand Prix.
"We're going onto the sixth engine, I believe it is for Valtteri, and it's not something that we choose to do.
"But on the contrary, we're trying to really get on top of the problems, and we haven't understood [them] fully.
"I think we are a step closer now, so it's not always that we are literally easy with having the engines.
"We are hanging on for dear life in supplying all customers, and that is not trivial."
Other drivers who have been hit by penalties include Perez, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, Alpine's Fernando Alonso, the other Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel and both cars of fellow Mercedes customer Williams.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamilton to be investigated over Mexico FP1 track limits
Next article Mexican GP: Bottas leads Hamilton by 0.076s in FP1
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
8 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Latest news
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 3 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 3 h
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
4 h
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe