Italian GP: Red Bull and Vettel avoid penalty for engine change
In the uncertainty following the issues with his V6 turbo hybrid in Spa, Sebastian Vettel was reassured during the first day of the Italian F1 Grand Prix: he will not have to change his power unit.
As he feared being penalized in Monza for using a sixth hybrid unit, Sebastian Vettel was reassured that he could race with the fifth engine of the season, which had encountered an ignition problem in Belgium.
The internal investigation conducted by Renault Sport F1 on the faulty power unit revealed that it could be repaired. It was mounted on its RB10 this Friday, in Monza. Rémi Taffin, the head of track operations for the diamond brand, confirmed that the operation of the power unit was optimal and that the German could use it for the rest of the weekend.
What we did this weekend is that we reused the engine used on Friday at Spa, which was the fifth, explained the Frenchman to Autosport. It is supposed to last the whole weekend now, so there won’t be a sixth engine for Sebastian.
However, Taffin makes no secret of the fact that the use of a sixth hybrid unit will become inevitable. It will then result in a penalty at the start of the race following this change. Red Bull and Renault will decide on a race-by-race basis when it will be most beneficial or least disadvantageous to install this new engine.
To be completely fair, we have these kinds of discussions at every race, maybe for an hour, and it’s always the same discussion. Until you reach the point where there is a big window for you to say ‘we’re changing’, you continue, but it’s strategy. Anything can happen and that’s the way it is.
Article 28.4 of the 2014 Sporting Regulations details the sanctions that may be imposed. The hybrid engine comprises six distinct elements (the internal combustion engine, the MGU-K, the MGU-H, the energy store, the turbocharger, and the electronic control unit) which are all limited to a maximum of 5 per season. Penalties are imposed in different ways, as follows:
– le remplacement du power unit dans son intégralité (les 6 éléments précités) entraînera le départ du pilote depuis les stands
– la première utilisation d’un sixième élément parmi ceux qui composent le power unit vaudra 10 places de pénalité sur la grille
– les utilisations suivantes d’un sixième élément vaudront 5 places de pénalité sur la grille.
– la première utilisation d’un septième élément parmi ceux qui composent le power unit vaudra 10 places de pénalité sur la grille
– les utilisations suivantes d’un septième élément vaudront 5 places sur la grille et ainsi de suite.
