Several F1 drivers are already anticipating an engine penalty ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
F1 heads to Barcelona for round six of the 2022 season, but several drivers are already afraid of an engine penalty after making changes to some power unit components.
The 2022 power unit rules are complicated, with drivers being allowed to employ certain elements more frequently than others throughout the campaign. For instance, they can employ up to eight Exhaust Systems despite only having two Energy Stores (ES) and Control Electronics (CE) (EX).
As with the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Turbocharger (TC), MHU-H, and MGU-K, the most critical elements have a restriction of three.
Two drivers have already used up their allowance on the four components listed above and will be penalised if they are compelled to make another adjustment unless they decide to use a part they have used in previous races. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda are some of the drivers caught up in the situation.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas is close behind and will be penalised if he replaces either his Turbocharger or his MGU-H. Similarly, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Kevin Magnussen, and Mick Schumacher are all on the verge of being penalised.
The following is a complete breakdown of power unit components used by the drivers in the season so far:
| Driver | ICE (3) | TC (3) | MGU-H (3) | MGU-K (3) | ES (2) | CE (2) | EX (8) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hamilton | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Verstappen | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Perez | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Leclerc | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Sainz | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Ricciardo | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Norris | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Alonso | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Ocon | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Gasly | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Tsunoda | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Stroll | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Vettel | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Albon | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Latifi | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bottas | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Zhou | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Magnussen | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Schumacher | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
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