F1 Monza: FIA confirm Red Bull star hit with 35-place grid penalty at Italian Grand Prix

Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Italian Grand Prix

FIA confirm 35-place grid penalty for Red Bull F1 star at Italian Grand Prix

Bad news for the New Zealander

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Sunday 6 September 2026 08:45 Updated: 13:02

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Red Bull have been handed a major blow for Sunday's F1 Italian Grand Prix at Monza after the FIA confirmed a 35-place grid penalty for Liam Lawson.

The 24-year-old New Zealander - deputising once again for the injured Isack Hadjar - will start from the very back of the field on Sunday (3pm local time, 2pm UK, 9am Eastern) after taking a new power unit on Saturday. Further rear wing changes following qualifying means he will start from the pit lane along with Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.

Lawson was the third driver to take a penalty for Sunday after championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and Alex Albon (Williams). They take grid drops of 30 and 20 places respectively.

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It became clear Lawson would take the penalty on Saturday when he ran during free practice 3 with a new power unit, and he subsequently finished 14th fastest in qualifying.

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Lawson penalty details confirmed

The FIA confirmed the full details of Lawson's grid drop just after qualifying had ended, explaining how that 35-position number came about.

They confirmed that his number 30 RB22 had taken its 6th Engine (ICE) of the season, its 6th Turbocharger (TC), 6th Exhaust Set (EXH), 4th MGU-K and 7th Power Unit Ancillary Component (PU-ANC).

Lawson will start from the very back of the field at Monza.

In confirming the decision, an FIA statement explained: "In this case, the use of ICE, TC and EXH additional element(s) carries a 5 grid place penalty by virtue of Article B8.2.8b of the FIA F1 Regulations and the use of MGU-K and PU-ANC additional elements carries a 10 grid place penalty by virtue of Article B8.2.8a of the FIA F1 Regulations. Therefore there is an accumulation of 35 places.

"Subject to Car 30 being classified in the results of Qualifying, Car 30 will be allocated a grid position in the race in accordance with Article B2.5.4b.iv of the FIA F1 Regulations."