Image by Hone/LAT
Fresh Honda penalty for Gasly in Mexico
Pierre Gasly will once again start from the back of the grid at the Mexican Grand Prix after Honda concerns over the power unit he used in Austin.
Honda introduced an upgraded power unit at the Russian Grand Prix and first raced it in Japan, and it showed an encouraging step forward in terms of performance. However, a reliability concern meant a further modification was made before last week’s race in the United States, resulting in grid penalties for both Gasly and teammate Brendon Hartley.
While Hartley climbed into the points in Austin, both drivers will use the previous specification of power unit this weekend due to the altitude in Mexico City.
“Pierre is starting FP1 with a new latest spec PU,” a Honda spokesperson told RACER. “The reason for this is that we have a concern regarding the assembly of the one used in Austin. That PU has been sent to Sakura for a full inspection and, at the moment, we are not sure if we can use it again this year. Therefore, by fitting a new one here, we add one to the pool of available units for the rest of this season.
“However, as from FP2 and for the rest of the weekend, Pierre will run an older specification PU. Brendon is also using this spec, for the entire weekend. The reason for reverting to the earlier pre-Russia spec is that we have a better understanding of this version of the PU and are more confident in our ability to set it up correctly for the specific conditions here in Mexico City.”
A new ICE, turbocharger and MGU-H adds up to a 15-place grid penalty for Gasly on Sunday, meaning the highest he could theoretically start is 16th were he to qualify on pole position.
Gasly completed just two laps in FP1 before Honda started changing the power unit for the specification to be used for the rest of the weekend. Hartley will not have a penalty, and is running the latest aerodynamic upgrade in Mexico that Gasly raced in Austin.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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