Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso are set to take 25-place grid penalties for Sunday’s Grand Prix in Austria after McLaren elected to change several elements of their respective Honda power units.
Button's penalty was confirmed after McLaren decided on Friday night to replace his full power unit assembly. Adding to the team's woes is a similar grid penalty for Alonso. The Spaniard had a 20-place grid penalty for the race in Spielberg confirmed on Friday. That has become 25, however, after a gearbox change became necessary following FP3, when Alonso ground to a halt and brought out the red flags midway through the session.
Given that the grid drops will be impossible to take in full, Button and Alonso will likely face drive-through penalties in the race - much as the Briton did last time out in Canada.
Alonso said on Friday evening that he was resigned to a tough weekend, and will therefore prioritise development work rather than results.
