Honda explain why Pierre Gasly received a grid penalty

More clarity came from Honda on Monday morning about why Pierre Gasly had to start the Turkish Grand Prix from the back. Toyoharu Tanabe wanted to change the engine at first, but then changed his mind.

When Tanabe is asked by AS-Web to explain exactly why Gasly received a grid penalty from the stewards, he states: "One thing was that Gasly's qualifying result was poor. There was also an Energy Store problem in Portugal, which meant we lost a battery. In the next four races, including Turkey, we would be punished if anything happened. "

Tanabe explains

The Honda CEO continues his story: "Then I decided to replace the power unit here and to discuss the preparations for the final phase of the season with the team," he says. Tanabe reported the change to the International Motor Sports Association and received approval. "So I started removing the parts."

Nevertheless, the Japanese engine supplier suddenly decided to stop changing the parts. According to Tanabe, this was because Gasly suddenly had the prospect of a better starting position due to a grid penalty with another car. "Then I decided to quit, but we got a penalty for breaking parc ferme rules. It was too late at that point to replace the power unit."

Stewards explain

The stewards explained in their statement why it was 'too late' to replace the power source. "The team started to take the car apart and the car was on high stands overnight due to the work already carried out (gearbox removed, ICE removed, radiators removed etc.). This morning the team has withdrawn the request which allows an assumption that the change was requested for strategic reasons and not for physical ones," the report said.

"More importantly, the car was already disassembled to a stage where it is impossible for the scrutineers and the other supervision means in place to guarantee that no modification to the car has been carried to any component by disassembling and refitting the original items."