McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team driver Fernando Alonso is set for further penalties at this weekend’s British Grand Prix, as he reverts back to the spec 3 Honda engine.
The Spaniard was forced to switch to the spec 2 engine ahead of FP3 in Austria last time out, when a problem with the MGU-H of the newest generation of engine was found overnight.
As team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne progressed well in Spielberg with the latest engine design, despite finishing out of the points, it was thought beneficial to move Alonso back onto the upgraded power unit this weekend, although he will still use the old MGU-H alongside it.
In addition, Honda will fit a new energy store, and this is where the five place grid penalty comes in, as it will be the double world champions fifth component of the season. The Japanese manufacturer also envisages further penalties having to be taken, but will review the situation after FP2 on Friday.
The move is likely a tactical one as McLaren expect to have a harder time of it, at a high-speed track such as Silverstone, than they will at the following race in Hungary.
Despite using the older engine in qualifying last time out however, Alonso was still able to get enough out of it to start higher up the grid than his team-mate, but we were unable to see the pace or performance difference during the race, as Alonso was taken out of the running in a first lap incident.
Meanwhile, the faulty part from Austria has been sent back to the factory for investigation, but the short timeframe between the last round and this one, meant no resolution was yet forthcoming.
