Aston Martin’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend has taken another distinctly grim turn, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll already condemned to start Saturday’s race from the back of the grid after the team opted to fit fresh Honda power unit components.
The decision was driven by reliability problems that have repeatedly forced Aston Martin beyond Formula 1’s annual allocation.
Both drivers had already incurred grid penalties earlier this season, leaving the team with little reason to preserve components that have effectively become unusable within the sporting limits.
With another batch of Honda hardware now installed, the consequences are immediate.
Back row awaits Aston Martin duo
Alonso will take his fifth V6 engine and fifth turbocharger of the season, together with a ninth set of ancillary components. The Spaniard receives a 10-place penalty for both the engine and turbo, having exceeded the permitted allocation for the first time, plus another five-place drop for the additional components.
Stroll's penalty tally is even more severe. The Canadian is taking his sixth turbo, seventh battery, sixth control electronics unit and eighth set of ancillary components. Since he had already exceeded the limit for all four, each incurs a five-place penalty, giving him a total grid drop of 20 places.
Any penalty exceeding 15 positions automatically sends a driver to the back of the grid, making the mathematical distinction largely academic for Aston Martin.
Unfortunately, the team's on-track performance offers little to suggest that either driver was on course for a comfortable weekend even without the penalties.
Both Aston Martins finished at the bottom of Thursday's FP2 order in Baku, with only Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas having gone slower during FP1. Alonso's afternoon was particularly unproductive, as he completed just nine laps before returning to the garage with a suspected oil leak involving his power unit.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - ResultsThat leaves Aston Martin facing a particularly bleak combination: two drivers starting from the rear, a car struggling for pace and yet another apparent reliability concern involving the very hardware that has caused so many headaches this season.
On a Baku circuit where overtaking is possible, Alonso and Stroll at least have the long run to Turn 1 and the lengthy main straight working in their favour. But after Thursday's evidence, Aston Martin looks to have given itself an enormous amount of work to do before the race has even started.
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