News
Hamilton and Ocon to start Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pit lane after power unit changes
Share
Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pit lane after taking multiple new power unit elements following qualifying, breaching their allowances for the season.
Mercedes driver Hamilton had qualified for the race in seventh on Saturday but has now installed a fifth Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) of the season on his W15. The Briton has also taken on a fifth turbocharger (TC), fifth MGU-H and a fifth MGU-K.
READ MORE: Gasly disqualified from qualifying at Azerbaijan Grand Prix over fuel flow breach
For Alpine's Ocon, who has endured a turbulent weekend so far on what will be his 150th Grand Prix, he has also taken on a new ICE, TC and MGU-H to breach his allowances for the season. However, the Frenchman had qualified last on Saturday after being plagued with reliability woes across a number of sessions.
The penalties are the latest twist in the qualifying results in Baku after Pierre Gasly was disqualified from the session over a fuel flow breach while Sauber's Zhou Guanyu went into qualifying knowing he'd start at the back of the grid after exceeding his own allowance of power unit components.
Lewis Hamilton will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pit lane
With Hamilton's penalty, it means a number of drivers will move up the grid including Lando Norris, who had qualified in a shock 17th in Baku. The McLaren championship challenger is set to climb to 15th courtesy of Gasly and Hamilton's penalties.
Those the penalised drivers, plus Norris – and many others on the grid – will hope they can move up the order in the race with overtaking opportunities aplenty around the street circuit in Azerbaijan.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
News 'Lewis has always been nice to me' - Antonelli hails 'great person' Hamilton in heartwarming interaction
News ‘I don’t think in any way we’re superior’ – Norris plays down McLaren advantage as he predicts ‘tough’ weekend
Live Blog AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from second practice for the Australian Grand Prix
FeatureF1 Unlocked PADDOCK INSIDER: McLaren's chances, Hamilton at Ferrari and Verstappen's quest for a fifth title – F1's 2025 season starts here
