Albon and Latifi hit with gearbox penalties
Albon and Latifi hit with gearbox penalties
Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi have both been handed five-place grid penalties for gearbox changes ahead of the Russian Grand Prix.
Red Bull driver Albon had qualified tenth at the Sochi Autodrom but will now start on the less favourable soft tyres from 15th, promoting Charles Leclerc, Daniil Kvyat, Lance Stroll, George Russell and Sebastian Vettel up a position each for the start.
Following qualifying, Albon had been unable to explain the gap of more than a second that split himself and his front row starting team-mate Max Verstappen.
"It didn’t feel like we had much left in the car and my laps didn’t feel bad so there’s a bit of head scratching going on," said Albon.
"You can tidy up some things here and there to find a couple of tenths maybe but obviously the gap is quite big today so it’s confusing and we have work to do.
As for Latifi, the Canadian had qualified 19th, so drops only one position to lift Kimi Raikkonen off the foot of the order.
Ahead of the official confirmation of the penalty from the FIA, a Williams spokesperson said: "Following a data inspection post-qualifying we found a problem with Nicky's gearbox. We therefore informed the FIA and this will now be changed ahead of the race today."
Gearboxes must be run for six consecutive races and the FIA technical delegate's report confirmed the matter had been referred to the race stewards.
The problem could also go some way to explaining the difficulties Latifi experienced during the Saturday's qualifying session.
"I am disappointed with qualifying," the Canadian reported.
"The session was dictated by the feeling I had on the brakes, and from the warm-up lap I wasn’t getting the bite on the brakes. I locked up and missed my first lap which then puts you on the back foot for your second lap."
Before you go...
FIA take action over 'Lewis Hamilton-type' t-shirts
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Ferrari announce DRASTIC change as Verstappen issues dire warning to bosses - GPFans F1 Recap
- 2 hours ago
Hamilton sends strong message over Gaza deaths
- 3 hours ago
F1 giants announce name change with IMMEDIATE effect
- Yesterday 21:57
Horner admits Red Bull at MAJOR disadvantage with new rules
- Yesterday 20:57
Horner reveals 'unhuman' Verstappen secret
- Yesterday 19:57
Sainz manager speaks out on 'game playing' over contract
- Yesterday 18:57
Related news
Horner reveals 'unhuman' Verstappen secret
Red Bull already sending parts to F1 race MONTHS away
Schumacher reveals what F1 pundits are NOT allowed to say about Red Bull
F1 team 'set to announce MEGA signing' in major Red Bull challenge
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860