BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Fernando Alonso's grid penalty for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has increased to 40 places after another new Honda power unit was fitted to his McLaren after Friday practice.
Alonso tested Honda's upgraded engine -- known as 'spec three' -- for the first time on Friday and, despite a gearbox failure, the team reported a good step in performance. However, because he already had a 15-place penalty for this race after changes to the car's turbo and MGU-H on Friday, Honda opted to save mileage on the upgraded engine for a race where he does not have a penalty and fit another 'spec two' power unit ahead of qualifying and the race.
As of Saturday morning therefore, Alonso has used five internal combustion engines and five MGU-Ks for the year as well as seven turbochargers and MGU-Hs. Penalties start to be applied once a driver exceeds four of any component, so combined with his 15-place penalty on Friday Alonso will receive a 40-place drop on Sunday's grid.
Teammate Stoffel Vandoorne also incurred a further 15-place grid penalty for his seventh MGU-H and turbo of the year, bringing his total penalty to 30 places and meaning it is incredibly likely to be an all-McLaren back row of the grid on Sunday.