Red Bull: Vettel could skip qualifying in Austin
Having already reached the engine quota allocated for the season, Sebastian Vettel might not participate in the qualifying session of the United States Grand Prix in order to preserve the sixth power unit he will have to use on this occasion.
The quota of five power units allocated at the beginning of the season to each driver is starting to cause serious problems within the teams.
Already, Pastor Maldonado had to use a sixth engine in his Lotus, and has been paying since the Japanese Grand Prix, his 10-place grid penalty. A penalty that, let’s remember, can be carried over from race to race if it cannot be fully applied in a single Grand Prix.
The situation for Sebastian Vettel is also critical since the German has already used five power units since the start of the season, and he will likely need to use a sixth for the United States Grand Prix. Almost certainly facing a 10-place grid penalty, the Red Bull driver might skip qualifying to preserve his engine and subsequently avoid further 5-place penalties for any new engine block changes.
The four-time world champion clarified his idea after the Russian Grand Prix: « Austin will be difficult because I think we won’t have much to do on Saturday afternoon. I will surely watch the qualifying more than participate in it because I will have to use a sixth engine. I might consider starting from the pit lane as it would make no sense to cover miles with this engine in qualifying. »
You can find a complete overview of all the power unit elements used by the drivers since the start of the season in this article offered by MotorsInside.
