F1 News

Albon explains why his engine didn't get upgraded

Albon explains why his engine didn't get upgraded

21-06-2019 12:08
1
Author profile picture

Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Toro Rosso rookie Alexander Albon is the only driver out of the four Honda-powered cars that hasn't gotten the new, third-spec engine, with the Thai therefore not receiving a grid penalty like his teammate Daniil Kvyat

Both Kvyat and Albon were on their third power unit heading into France, already on the limit of receiving a 10-place penalty if another swap took place. As Honda has recently developed a new-and-improved spec of the power unit, both Red Bull Racing cars, as well as Kvyat's Toro Rosso, were fitted with the block.

For both Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, this will be their third engine, so no penalties yet, but Kvyat will be set back after qualifying.

So, why wasn't Albon's STR14 fitted with the newest hardware?

“The way I see it I think, yeah, we knew whatever we do now we’re going to get a penalty for it," the 23-year-old said when quizzed about it by Motorsport-Week.

“So on my side of the garage we were looking quite good with the engine. Dany maybe was a bit closer to the limit so they decided to change earlier than I did. That was about it really. Yeah.”

Another theory is that Toro Rosso wouldn't want both cars taking penalties to increase scoring points with at least one car. A potential penalty for Albon inbound in Austria next week?

Follow GPblog now on TwitterYouTube, and Facebook!