Alonso and Stroll Handed Azerbaijan GP Grid Penalties for Honda Power Unit Changes

Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will start at the back of the grid for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix after incurring grid penalties for fitting new Honda power unit components. Aston Martin and partner Honda decided to install the latest batch of power units across both cars following ongoing reliability issues that previously caused both drivers to exceed the season allowance of four engines.

Alonso received a 10-place penalty for a fifth V6 engine, another 10-place penalty for a fifth turbocharger, and a five-place penalty for a ninth set of ancillary components. Meanwhile, Stroll took a sixth turbocharger, a seventh battery, a sixth control electronics unit, and an eighth set of ancillary components, incurring four separate five-place penalties totaling 20 places. Under F1 regulations, any driver receiving grid penalties exceeding 15 places is required to start from the back of the grid.

The penalties follow a difficult second practice session (FP2) at the Baku City Circuit, where both Aston Martin drivers finished at the bottom of the timesheets. Alonso completed only nine laps in FP2 before returning to the garage due to a suspected power unit oil leak. Mercedes driver George Russell led the FP2 session ahead of his team-mate Kimi Antonelli.