Picture Credit: Formula 1
In a big blow to Ferrari's chances at the French Grand Prix 2022, Carlos Sainz is set to take a grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components for the year. Notably, Sainz was forced to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix after an engine fire that caused so much harm to the power unit that it was no longer in repairable condition.
As a result, before the first practice ahead of the French Grand Prix, the FIA had confirmed that they had fitted his car with new parts including a new control electronics (CE) which is his third one of the year, more than the permitted quota of two.
Although the usage of the third control electronics will hand Carlos Sainz at least a 10-place grid penalty, Ferrari may in addition, add a few more components if deemed necessary, which will result in further penalties.
Meanwhile, Mercedes Lewis Hamilton has also applied the maximum permitted allocation of each part per car ahead of the French Grand Prix. This implies that he has taken his third turbocharger, third MGU-H coupled with a second energy store (ES) and second CE. Hamilton's teammate George Russell has also taken a second ES and CE but that falls within the permitted limits.