Fernando Alonso will start the British Grand Prix with at least a five-place grid penalty in order for him to run the latest specification Honda power unit.
McLaren went to Austria last weekend with two new ‘Spec 3’ power units for Alonso and team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, but a problem with the MGU-H on Alonso’s car in practice meant he reverted to the older version for the rest of the weekend.
For this weekend, McLaren will use the Spec 3 engine combined with the old MGU-H to minimise penalties but will change the energy store which will bring a five-place grid penalty.
Depending on reliability during practice on Friday, further changes could be made to the configuration which could bring more penalties before the race on Sunday.
Alonso has currently used five internal combustion engines, seven turbos, seven MGU-H’s, five MGU-K’s and four energy stores this season. The maximum allowed is four during the season before penalties are applied.
Given the long straights of Silverstone likely to drop McLaren back down the order. Extra penalties could be taken this weekend in order to have a penalty free weekend in Hungary, a track known for its tight and twisty layout which isn’t reliant on outright power.
