Bortoleto, Lindblad and Colapinto take grid penalties for the US Grand Prix
The FIA has confirmed penalties for three drivers at Austin because of new power unit parts: Gabriel Bortoleto drops 20 places, Franco Colapinto 10 and Arvid Lindblad five. All three exceeded season allocations of engine components.
Who is affected
Three drivers will drop down the grid at the United States Grand Prix after fitting power unit components beyond their season allocations. Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto takes the heaviest sanction, a 20-place penalty. Alpine's Franco Colapinto receives 10 places and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad five, according to The Race, Crash.net, PlanetF1 and RacingNews365.
What the parts say
Bortoleto's penalty is the sum of two separate breaches. He took a fourth energy store and a fourth control electronics unit this season, where only three of each are permitted. Each carries a 10-place penalty. His new internal combustion engine was his fourth and final permitted unit, and his turbocharger and exhaust sets stay within the limit, so they add nothing.
Colapinto is penalised for a fourth control electronics unit in his Alpine, one more than the allowance, which is worth 10 places.
Lindblad's sanction is smaller because it is not his first. Racing Bulls fitted a sixth internal combustion engine to his car, when four are allowed. A first change beyond the pool costs 10 places, while later ones cost five, as RacingNews365 and Crash.net explain.
PlanetF1 adds that Oscar Piastri, Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz and Bortoleto received new ancillary components. All remain inside the six-item season limit, so no penalty applies. Antonelli and Bortoleto have now reached their final permitted ancillaries.
By the numbers
The penalties are applied after qualifying, so the final grid will only be clear on Saturday. The Race notes that half the field had already gone beyond at least one component allowance this season, and the Austin changes lift that to 12 of the 22 drivers.
The three are not regular front-runners this year. In our race data for the 17 grands prix so far, Lindblad has finished in the top ten 11 times, with a best result of sixth. Colapinto has eight top-ten finishes, also with a best of sixth. Bortoleto has three, with eighth twice his best.
In first practice in Austin, Lindblad was ninth-fastest, Bortoleto eighth and Colapinto 17th, according to Crash.net. The penalties could still reshuffle the midfield when the race starts on Sunday at 21:00 Vienna time.
Sources
Topics: Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Arvid Lindblad, Audi, Alpine, Racing Bulls
