Lindblad, Bortleto, and Colapinto face grid penalties at US Grand Prix
Arvid Lindblad, Gabriel Bortleto, and Franco Colapinto will drop down the grid at the Circuit of the Americas due to power unit component changes. Bortleto faces a 20-place penalty for exceeding limits on energy stores and control electronics, while Colapinto receives a 10-place sanction.
Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Bortleto, as well as Franco Colapinto, will start Sunday’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas with grid penalties after they all take fresh power unit components outside the mandated pool. These three drivers will drop down the order after Saturday’s qualifying session. Because the British driver is using his sixth internal combustion engine, Racing Bulls driver Lindblad takes a five-place penalty, which is a smaller drop than the ten-place sanction assigned for a first change outside the pool. I find the scale of Bortleto’s punishment particularly harsh because the Brazilian driver must start from the back of the grid following a 20-place penalty. The fourth internal combustion engine and fourth turbocharger comply with the limit, and the fourth exhaust set also stays within the permitted count. However, his fourth energy store and fourth control electronics units exceed the allowed three.
| Component | Seasonal Limit |
|---|---|
| Internal Combustion Engine | 4 |
| Turbocharger | 4 |
| Exhaust set | 4 |
| Energy store | 3 |
| Control electronics | 3 |
| Ancillary components | 6 |
Component changes for other drivers
Franco Colapinto receives a 10-place penalty for a fourth control electronics unit. This driver joins several others who introduced new power unit ancillary components before the first practice session in Austin. Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz have now used five such components, whereas Kimi Antonelli and Gabriel Bortleto have moved onto their sixth. These specific replacements stay within the permitted allocation of six ancillary components per driver. I view the situation for the three penalized drivers as a mess because their engine changes disrupt the grid order before the 25 October race.
The FIA confirmed these changes ahead of the race weekend, which occurs before the Mexico City Grand Prix on 01 November, the Brazilian Grand Prix on 08 November, the Las Vegas Grand Prix on 22 November, and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 06 December. Lindblad’s decision to take a sixth engine is particularly blunt since the driver has already exceeded his limit by two engines. Colapinto and Bortleto both exceed their specific limits for control electronics, which only permit three units per season. I think the grid disruption for the United States race is an avoidable headache for the teams due to these engine changes. The drivers must now manage these new components as they head toward the final races of the season.
