AUSTIN — Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto will all start the United States Grand Prix further back than they qualify after each exceeded the number of power unit components permitted for the season.
Formula 1 confirmed the sanctions on its official X account on Saturday (Oct 24), posting: “Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad have all received grid penalties for various PU changes at the United States Grand Prix 🚨”, alongside a link to the full story and the hashtags #F1 and #USGP.
Bortoleto faces the heaviest punishment. According to Formula 1’s report, Audi have made the most changes to the Brazilian’s car, fitting his fourth energy store and his fourth control electronics unit of the campaign. A replacement internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger, exhaust set and power unit ancillary component have also been installed, but these remain within his allocation and do not count towards the penalty. Even so, he faces a 20-place drop and is likely to start from the back of the grid.
For Racing Bulls’ Lindblad it is a familiar story. The team previously sent him to the back of the grid in Malaysia when they installed his fifth ICE of the season, and they have now chosen to change the element again. The new unit is his sixth, against an allowance of four, and brings a five-place penalty.
Colapinto will lose 10 places from his qualifying position after Alpine fitted a new control electronics unit, his fourth of the season. The penalty comes as the Argentine tries to help Alpine close the gap to midfield rivals Racing Bulls.
The sporting regulations set out a sliding scale for such changes. The first time a driver exceeds the allocation of any power unit element, a 10-place grid penalty applies, and each further breach of that element brings a five-place drop. All penalties incurred at the same event are added together, and any driver whose total exceeds 15 places must start at the back of the field regardless.
The penalties are a blow to three young drivers hoping to make an impression at the Circuit of The Americas, leaving them with ground to recover before the race has even begun. They also add another variable to a weekend that could decide the title. Kimi Antonelli arrives in Texas with a 102-point lead over his Mercedes team-mate George Russell and can be crowned champion on Sunday if results go his way.
Friday’s running offered little comfort to the penalised trio’s rivals at the front either. Charles Leclerc topped both practice sessions for Ferrari, with Antonelli only 0.042s behind in second practice and Max Verstappen third. The final grid order, however, will not be settled until the penalties are applied after qualifying.
Qualifying for the United States Grand Prix begins at 4pm local time on Saturday, which is 5am on Sunday (Oct 25) in Malaysia. Lights out for the race is at 3pm on Sunday in Austin, or 4am on Monday (Oct 26) Malaysian time.
The original Formula 1 post can be viewed on X: https://x.com/F1/status/2113994419644826060.
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