SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Fernando Alonso will start the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix near the back of the grid after the Spaniard’s McLaren team replaced his power-unit with a fresh one following Friday’s opening practice session.
The double world champion and his teammate Jenson Button switched to the fifth of their permitted five power units heading into the weekend with engine-supplier Honda introducing an updated version.
But Alonso’s sprung a water leak during Friday morning’s 90-minute practice session, limiting him to just three laps with no time on the board.
The new power unit, which will cost Alonso 35 places on the grid, is of the same updated specification Honda has introduced this weekend.
Marcus Ericsson will also drop 10 places on Sunday’s grid, after his Sauber team fitted a sixth turbocharger to his Ferrari-powered car.
World championship leader Lewis Hamilton is also set for a hefty grid drop for exceeding his permitted allocation of engine components.
The Briton is already set for a 30-place grid drop, with Mercedes fitting his car with two new power units ahead of each of Friday’s practice sessions.
The possibility of Hamilton taking on a third new power unit ahead of Saturday’s final practice session to push him even further down remains open, a team spokesman said.
The Formula One grid comprises 22 cars. Grid penalties cannot be carried over to the next event which means Hamilton, Alonso and even Ericsson are likely to start together at the back.
But just where they line up relative to each other will depend on when they were hit with their respective penalties, the number of places they have to drop and where they qualify.
Verstappen on top
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen delighted his army of fans in the forests of the Ardennes Friday afternoon when he topped the times in second free practice for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old Red Bull driver, who was born 50 kms away from the sprawling and majestic Spa-Francorchamps circuit at Hasselt in Belgium, clocked a best lap of one minute and 48.085 seconds.
That allowed him to outpace Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo by two-tenths as the Renault-powered outfit delivered a strong one-two showing.
It was the third time in Verstappen’s brief Formula One career that he had topped the session times and did so in front of thousands of supporters camping under the trees in the unexpected heat-wave conditions.
German Nico Huelkenberg was third-fastest for Force India ahead of his compatriot Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, Mexican Sergio Perez in the second Force India and championship contender Nico Rosberg of Mercedes.
Rosberg had been fastest in a Mercedes one-two ahead of championship leader and defending champion Lewis Hamilton in the morning session, but both men concentrated on preparation for the race with long runs on medium tires.
Finn Kimi Raikkonen, newly married during the month-long European summer break, was seventh in the second Ferrari ahead of Frenchman Romain Grosjean of Haas, Briton Jenson Button of McLaren and Mexican Esteban Gutierrez in the second Haas. — Agencies
