How the latest round of engine upgrades will impact Sunday's grid
Friday 30 August 2019 17:29, UK
The Belgian GP will see six drivers take engine penalties as teams introduce their latest engine upgrades for F1's high-speed Spa-Monza double header.
All of the grid's four engine manufacturers - Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda and Renault - have brought new units to either all or some of their respective works and customer teams.
Ferrari's works team are continuing with the engine they raced at the last event in Hungary, with their next upgrade instead expected for their home race in Italy next week. But customers Haas and Alfa Romeo do have new engines.
Alex Albon, Daniil Kvyat and Lance Stroll will all start from the back rows of the grid, while Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz will each take five-place penalties for Sunday's race, which begins at 2.10pm on Sky Sports F1.
When's the Belgian GP on Sky?
What does Albon need to do at Red Bull?
New engines: Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes); Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll (Racing Point); George Russell and Robert Kubica (Williams)
Penalties: Lance Stroll (back of grid)
Mercedes say they 'phase three' power unit has shown improved performance and reliability in factory tests.
All six Mercedes-powered cars ran the upgrade from first practice in Belgium. Only Racing Point's Lance Stroll, who suffered a failure earlier in the season, collects a penalty for exceeding engine limits this season.
New engines: Alex Albon (Red Bull); Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
Penalties: Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat (back of grid)
As the Japanese manufacturer continue to pursue an aggressive development path, Red Bull and Toro Rosso are taking one of Honda's 'Spec Four' units apiece at Spa.
Alex Albon, making his debut with the senior Red Bull team, starts with a penalty, while former team-mate Daniil Kvyat will also start towards the back of the field for Toro Rosso.
New engines: Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg (Renault); Carlos Sainz (McLaren)
Penalties: Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Sainz (five places)
Renault have described their latest specification as featuring "minor upgrades to reliability and performance" amid their attempt to kick-start a 2019 season which has disappointed so far.
New engines: Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen (Haas); Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
Penalties: None
The Haas team are introducing their third and final penalty-free engines of the season this weekend. The same applies for Antonio Giovinazzi's Alfa Romeo.
