Pastor Maldonado slapped with ten-place grid penalty for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Formula 1 news
Williams driver Pastor Maldonado will have to take a ten-place grid penalty for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he will be using his ninth engine of the season.
Maldonado’s race in India was ruined because of mechanical problems. He had a blown engine in FP1 which followed by gearbox problem during the race. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) regulations state that drivers are only allowed to use a maximum
number of 8 engines in the season while Maldonado will be on his ninth engine during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Cheif of operations engineer for Williams, Mark Gillan said, “We need to ensure we have a trouble free weekend and then it is possible that we can make it into Q3. Although as Pastor will use a ninth engine in Abu Dhabi, due to damage incurred following
the gearbox failure in India, he will therefore incur a subsequent 10-place grid penalty.”
Gillan mentioned that it is sad news as they were doing better after a decent performance in Korea. They had just updated the floor of the car and Maldonado was racing competitively during the Indian Grand Prix before he had to retire.
It is speculated that Williams is looking to use the Renault engine from next season, seeing how their current Cosworth engine has not proved to be a reliable engine for them. This would be the main reason for Williams to change their engine to Renault.
There are still two more races to go in the season, Abu Dhabi and Brazil, and it remains to be seen how well Williams perform with their unpredictable Cosworth engine. Maldonado has had a torrid season because of the problems with the car, and he will be
looking to better his record in the remaining races.
The engine problems are not only hindering Maldonado’s performance but Williams is also loosing points for the constructors’ championship standing. It will be interesting to see what changes Williams make to the car and the engine in the little time they
have before they head to Abu Dhabi, and if those changes give their car and Maldonado some reliability on the track.
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