20/06/2015
NEWS STORY
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.
Check out our Saturday gallery, here.