Both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are set to take more grid penalties at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza this weekend as Honda contemplate introducing a ninth power unit to each McLaren.
After a double engine change last time out at Spa-Francorchamps, where Alonso was handed a 55-place grid penalty and Button a fifty-place drop, both drivers are set once again to fall down the grid this weekend in Italy.
Unlike in Belgium however, McLaren are not set to make a double change, meaning a less harsh penalty for the race in Italy for a race where the team are already expecting to struggle, especially in terms of straight-line speed.
The move to change to a ninth unit means the team will have up to three workable engines to work with for the remaining races, with the team believing the next race at Singapore will work to McLaren’s strengths more than in Italy.
The penalties for Alonso and Button mean that at least a quarter of the Formula 1 field will take a grid drop this weekend, with both Infiniti Red Bull Racing drivers and Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr already likely to take new engines.
