Alonso already approaching limit for power units: 'Engine is lost for us'

Fernando Alonso will switch to a new engine at the Australian Grand Prix following his retirement in Saudi Arabia. This means that the Spaniard is already on his third power unit of the season. Therefore, the Spaniard is already approaching the limit of the three engines allowed in a Formula 1 season.

Alonso takes new engine to Australia

Alonso was driving in a comfortable seventh place when he was forced to stop his car at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. A big disappointment for the Alpine driver, who started the weekend with a new ICE (internal combustion engine).

Back at the factory, the cause of the problem was quickly identified. "It is not the engine, but the water pump," said general manager Laurent Rossi according to AutoHebdo. That then led to a defect in the cooling system, which in turn caused several problems.

Alpine was hoping to replace the part in time for the Australian Grand Prix on April 10, but the team is not going to meet that deadline. As a result, the team has been forced to deploy a new power unit. The limit of three engines in a season is already being approached in this regard, as the engine used in Jeddah can be considered lost.

"The problem is that the part is integrated into the engine," Rossi continued. "The water pump failed and fell into the engine. If we had wanted to fix it, we would have had to break the seal. Therefore, the engine is lost to us. Even if the physical integrity is not directly affected, it means one less engine for us."