Stoffel Vandoorne says he and McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso are both set to receive grid penalties for this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
McLaren has already suffered a spate of engine-related failures due to ongoing problems with Honda's power unit, and is set to take a double-hit in Baku after Honda was forced to change engine elements following its latest issues a fortnight ago in Canada. Alonso previously admitted he was expecting to exceed his car's quotas in Azerbaijan after another failure in the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Vandoorne, who suffered an MGU-H failure during practice in Canada, says he has now moved onto his sixth component this year, meaning he will be slapped with a 15-place grid drop for this weekend's grand prix.
"We have some penalties already to start the weekend, which is not ideal but this is the situation we are in," Vandoorne said. "We will try and make our best focus maybe a bit more on race runs and hopefully we can play a little bit during the race. We are probably competing to start from the back of the grid."
When asked whether Honda's engine changes will bring a boost to either performance or reliability, Vandoorne replied: "It's probably more of a question for Honda. I don't think there's many new introductions this weekend so it will not be too different. To be honest it's not up to me to take such a decision. Yes, it's been a difficult start to the season, it's definitely not an ideal situation for everyone.
"We'd like to be fighting much higher up on the grid, but we are trying to put McLaren's interest at the top and that's what is the most important for us now. We need to fight back and I am pretty sure the team is moving in the right direction, and hopefully at some point we will be competitive again, and hopefully that is sooner rather than later."
Alonso will also move take on a new-spec MGU-H -- his sixth of 2017 -- as well as running his fourth internal combustion engine (ICE). The Spaniard's MCL32 most recently took a grid penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix for exceeding its season-long quota of four turbochargers and four MGU-Hs, though it was the deputising Jenson Button who suffered the consequences on his one-off return to F1.