Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas will take a 50-place grid penalty at this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix after the team fitted five new power unit elements in one go. Under the regulations, any drop of more than 15 places means starting from the back, so Bottas is effectively headed for the rear of the field. Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto also has a five-place penalty coming.
Bottas: five elements, 10 places for each first breach
Formula1.com, in a piece timed 8:50pm UTC on 30 October, reported that Cadillac, which runs Ferrari engines, has given Bottas a new internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger (TC), energy store (ES), control electronics unit (PU-CE) and MGU-K. All five are first-time breaches of the season's allocation.
The rule quoted in that article: the first time the allocation of any one element is exceeded, a 10-place penalty applies; the second time, and so on, brings a five-place drop; and penalties at the same event are cumulative. Five first-time breaches at 10 places each makes 50. A driver penalised by more than 15 places "will be required to start the race at the back of the field regardless".
Bortoleto: sixth control electronics unit of the year
RacingNews365 (Ian Parkes) reported that Bortoleto has taken a new control electronics unit. It is his sixth of the campaign, against an allocation of three per season, so he takes a five-place penalty after qualifying on Saturday. That detail appears only in RacingNews365; Formula1.com's article does not mention Bortoleto.
Where the two sources differ
| Item | Formula1.com | RacingNews365 |
|---|---|---|
| Drivers covered | Bottas | Bottas, Bortoleto |
| Bottas starting last | "Subject to Car 77 being classified in the results of Qualifying", grid slot allocated under Article B2.5.4b.iv | "Guaranteed to start at the back of the 22-car grid" |
Formula1.com makes the outcome conditional on Bottas being classified in qualifying, while RacingNews365 calls a last-place start guaranteed. Both agree on the 50-place total and the five replaced elements. Neither article says how many of each element Bottas has used this season.
Context for the weekend
According to Formula1.com, Bottas missed Thursday's media duties through illness, and team-mate Sergio Perez was also unwell and arrived late on Friday. Colton Herta drove Bottas' car in FP1 to meet the young driver requirement. The takeaway for the weekend: whatever Bottas does in qualifying, he starts at the back, and Bortoleto drops five places after qualifying. The race grid is only settled once Saturday's qualifying is done.