Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll receive grid penalties for the Azerbaijan GP due to modifications made to their Honda F1 power units.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will begin the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the rear of the grid after incurring penalties for the installation of new Honda power unit components.
Earlier this season, Alonso and Stroll had already experienced grid drops due to Honda's reliability issues, which prevented either driver from utilizing the permitted four engines for the season.
Aston Martin and its power unit supplier Honda have opted to implement a new set of power units in both cars.
Alonso will be fitted with a fifth V6 engine and turbocharger, as well as a ninth set of auxiliary components. Since this is the first instance where the two-time world champion has surpassed his engine and turbo allocation, he faces a 10-place penalty for each, in addition to a five-place penalty for the other components.
Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso have taken different paths concerning their 2026 engine allocation because of persistent reliability challenges.
Stroll is set to take a sixth turbo, a seventh battery, a sixth control electronics unit, and an eighth set of auxiliary components. Having already surpassed his allocation for each of these four components, the Canadian has received four five-place grid penalties, totaling 20.
If drivers face grid penalties exceeding 15 places, they must start from the back of the grid, although in the case of Aston Martin, this is merely a technicality.
Both drivers finished at the bottom in FP2, with only Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas trailing behind in Thursday morning's FP1 session. Alonso managed just nine laps in the second practice before retreating to the garage due to a suspected oil leak in the power unit.
Mercedes driver George Russell dominated FP2 at the Baku City Circuit, leading ahead of his championship-leading teammate Kimi Antonelli.
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