Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen to start 2022 F1 French GP from last after engine penalties
Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen will reportedly start the upcoming 2022 F1 French Grand Prix from the back of the grid after receiving penalties for power unit (PU) changes ahead of the race.
It was confirmed earlier this weekend that Sainz would be receiving a 10-place grid penalty for changing his control electronics after his PU went up in flames at the 2022 F1 Austrian GP, forcing him to retire from the race. It has now been announced that the Ferrari driver will be taking on several other power unit elements as well, dropping him further down the grid.
Overnight we changed a number of power unit components on Kevin’s car and consequently will be subject to a grid penalty for tomorrow’s race.
#HaasF1 #FrenchGP https://t.co/TMAYA1OKID
As reported by F1.com, Haas' Kevin Magnussen will be taking on a new turbocharger, internal combustion engine, MGU-H, and MGU-K. As a result, the Dane will also be joining Sainz at the back of the grid at the 2022 F1 French GP.
This may not be the best piece of news for Sainz, who admitted at the end of Friday's practice sessions that overtaking at the Circuit Paul Ricard has proven to be a lot "trickier" than he and the team anticipated. The Spaniard said:
“I tried a couple of moments with other cars to overtake because I know I’m going to need to a lot, and I must say that it was a bit trickier than expected. Mainly because there’s a tail-wind on the back straight and with this tail-wind it looks like the slipstream and DRS effect is a bit low.”
“But I don’t have any other choice; I need to find ways to overtake and the best medicine for that is just to be a bit quicker come Sunday than what we are. Let’s see when everyone runs the engine modes on Sunday if we have the top speed to overtake. I hope we do because I’m going to need to make up a lot of places!”
Max Verstappen closest to an F1 race ban with 7 penalty points to his name
The penalty point system was introduced in F1 back in 2014. It states that actions taken by a particular driver that warrant penalties will receive a penalty point and that 12 such points in a single season will lead to a race ban.
As of now, reigning world champion Max Verstappen is at the top of the list with seven points to his name. While no driver has ever reached 12 points in recent times, it is safe to assume that the Dutchman will be approaching the upcoming races with extra caution.
Mick Schumacher and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz are the three drivers on the grid with no penalty points to their name, while Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso, and Alex Albon are next in line after Verstappen with six points each.