Yuki Tsunoda faces a tough Belgian Grand Prix as he has incurred a massive 60-place grid penalty for the race on Sunday. The stewards determined this penalty after finding the Japanese driver in breach of Article 28.2 of the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.
This penalty for Tsunoda is a result of taking additional power unit components (four allowed per season), Energy Store and Control Electronics (two allowed per season) beyond the allocated number for the entire season. Per Article 28.3, a 10-place grid penalty is given for the first time any driver exceeds the engine components allocation.
Stewards noted that Tsunoda had exhausted his allocated components and was on his fifth Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), fifth Turbo Charger, fifth Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H), fifth Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K), third Energy Store (ES), and third Control Electronics (CE) during the first Free Practice Session of the weekend.
Thus, the Japanese driver has got 10-place penalties for each of the six components. Now, Article 42.3 d) dictates that if a driver accumulates a grid penalty exceeding 15 places, they must start from the back of the grid. Therefore, Tsunoda will need to start the race last unless anyone else has a similar back-of-the-grid penalty.
Tsunoda isn’t the only driver who will take a grid penalty on Sunday. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will also face a 10-place grid drop for taking his fifth Internal Combustion Engine of the season.
V-CARB has been regularly fighting for points-paying positions with Tsunoda bagging more points for the team compared to his teammate Daniel Ricciardo. But, having to start from dead last means that Tsunoda might not be able to recover to the top 10 by the end of the 44-lap race on Sunday.
While Tsunoda’s 60-place grid drop seems like a drastic number, there was another driver who came close to this number during the British GP.
Pierre Gasly took a 50-place grid penalty at Silverstone
Gasly took a 50-place grid penalty ahead of the British Grand Prix due to the strategic decision by Alpine to overhaul the power unit (PU) and the Control Electronics of his car.
Pierre Gasly has been given a 50-place grid penalty
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The Frenchman took a 10-place grid penalty for each of the power unit components including an ICE, a turbocharger, the MGU-H, MGU-K, and the Control Electronics, for a total of 50 places at Silverstone. However, Gasly could not make the most of his new power unit, as he had to retire on the formation lap itself due to a gearbox issue, just like what he faced in Jeddah.
In Belgium, Tsunoda will need to focus on improving the long-run pace of the car. Provided he doesn’t face any issues like his former teammate, he can go extra long in his first stint on hard tires and look to capitalize if there is a Safety Car situation.
