Perez and Bottas set for Australian GP pit lane starts

Sergio Perez will start the Australian Grand Prix from the pit lane after Red Bull breached parc fermé to make changes to his car.

The Mexican endured a torrid Saturday in Melbourne, going off the track on four occasions during final practice before crashing into the gravel during the opening phase of qualifying.

In a bid to fix the problems that Perez had complained of and with little to lose, Red Bull fitted a third control electronics unit and energy store for the season to his RB19.

Drivers are permitted to use only two of each of these components to complete the 23-race season and, as a result of exceeding this total, the Mexican will start from the pit lane.

Valtteri Bottas will join the Red Bull driver at the end of the pit lane after his Alfa Romeo team made changes to his suspension overnight.

Although this work was completed with the permission of FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer, this still represented a breach of parc fermé and necessitated a pit lane start.

Prior to this, Bottas had been expected to lineup in 19th - one place ahead of Perez.

READ MORE: Horner issues response to latest Verstappen reliability fears

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