McLaren's Austrian weekend has gone from bad to worse as Jenson Button takes a 25-place hit.

In addition to the 20-place penalty incurred by teammate Fernando Alonso, after the Spaniard received his fifth engine of the year together with a new turbocharger and MGU-H, Button has been handed an even bigger penalty.

The Briton will drop 25 places after the Woking team used a 6th turbocharger, 6th MGU-H, 5th internal combustion engine and 5th MGU-K.

"This is a breach of Article 28.4 a) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations," said the stewards. "In accordance with Article 28.4 c) a 10 grid position penalty is imposed, as this is the first time a 6th power unit element has been used. A further 5 grid position penalty is imposed for the MGU-H as this is the first time a 6th of any of the remaining elements have been used. Two 5 grid position penalties are also imposed for the ICE and MGU-K as this is the first time a 5th of any of the remaining elements have been used."

Meanwhile, Alonso has been handed a further 5-place penalty after McLaren opted to change his gearbox as a result of an issue that arose during FP3. This takes his total up to 25.

As expected, having changed the engine of Daniel Ricciardo's car, Red Bull has followed suit on teammate Daniil Kvyat's, thus leaving the Russian with a 10-place drop.

The stewards, who have been kept busy this weekend, and no doubt face further cases over the course of the weekend, also gave reprimands to Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg, both for crossing the white line at the pit entry during FP3 in the wet.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by stackvideo, 21/06/2015 8:55

"Never thought I'd say this I'm finding Formule E a lot more exciting then F1."

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2. Posted by ape, 20/06/2015 19:42

"Ha ha funny ...ofcourse the drivers need help from the trackside , because the systems are built that way .
But i am 100 % sure that if the Fia say " after august all radio communication with the car is forbidden as well as more than five buttons or switches in the car ,due to too much distraction for the driver ( safety reason !!!remember "don't talk to me in the corners" )
all the teams will have adjusted the car accordingly in no time.
Will the teams like it ?...ofcourse not , as they don't care about the fans."

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3. Posted by vermin, 20/06/2015 15:01

"Quote: (Peter Farkas - Auto Motor) A question to all of you. One of the complaints fans frequently make is the drivers are instructed too much on the radio. I understand that, at the moment, it wouldn't be possible for them to manage all the systems of the car themselves because they are too complex. Do you think it would be possible to reprogram the systems and make some displays available for them so they can manage things like fuel saving and brake temperature and things like that themselves without any outside help? Because maybe they would seem to be managing the race without any help and that would look better from the outside. End quote.

The responses to this question illustrate the absurd state of F1 as it has been thoroughly distorted.

I fell asleep during qualifying today! I am not interested in how the team drives the car.

I want to see how the driver plies his well paid trade to win and not conserve his tyres and fuel.

As for the penalties applied today and the in the future? What a load of crap.

The we have the token system which is a further incomprehensible distortion of reality.

I have access to live NASCAR, Indycar, SBK, MotoGP and other motorsport in addition to F1.

I plan my viewing giving up sleeping time to watch racing where the participants strive to win, not strive to survive having had artificial constraints imposed on them.
"

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4. Posted by Greg, 20/06/2015 14:41

"Fully agree with the comments below. So button starts 25 Places down on his grid position. Wait there are only 20 cars racing. So he is five positions behind the last car. A big gap. But regardless he starts 20th. So he must take either a time penalty of a stop and go. Netter to do a redbull do a lap and retire the car.

The racing is becoming one joke. Have watched for the past 40 years, even worked as a marshal but this is getting so farcical it doesn't even make you cry. Better to go back to the bare bones and start all over again."

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5. Posted by kiwi2wheels, 20/06/2015 13:34 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 20/06/2015 13:38)

"This comment was removed by an administrator as it was judged to have broken the site's posting rules and etiquette."

Rating: Neutral (0)

6. Posted by alfsboy, 20/06/2015 13:19

"What a load of Bo**ocks."

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7. Posted by stackvideo, 20/06/2015 12:55

"Totally agree with Mugmug, F1 must be the laughing stock of all motor racing world wide. "

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8. Posted by Mugmug, 20/06/2015 11:54

"Do you really think a sane person would pay $350-500 plus expenses (travel, accomodations, food, etc. to watch what looks like a dis-organized, illogical, line up of cars and drivers that probably don't even know why they're starting the race in the position they're in. Why bother to go out and try to qualify?

The way F1 is run now, they'd have to pay me to watch a race."

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Button hit with 25-place penalty

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