Breaking news

Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

Giovinazzi set for grid penalty in Azerbaijan

Antonio Giovinazzi is set for a 10-place grid penalty in the Azerbaijan GP after both the Italian and his Alfa Romeo teammate Kimi Raikkonen take Ferrari's new spec control electronics for this weekend.

Adam Cooper

Edited: Apr 25, 2019, 11:13 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo Racing C38

The upgraded version was fast-tracked through the system after Charles Leclerc suffered a failure in the Bahrain GP, and was used by the works Ferrari and Haas drivers in Shanghai.

However, Alfa opted not to take it because its release by Ferrari came relatively late, and some bespoke installation work would have had to be done in the field at the last minute.

When Giovinazzi subsequently suffered a failure in qualifying in Shanghai, team boss Fred Vasseur took full responsibility for not authorising the change, and vowed to use the new units in Azerbaijan.

After China, the team did some work back at its Hinwil base on the new installation – which involves revised cabling and water lines and so on – prior to fitting the new CE units in the Baku pit garage this week.

In the interim, Giovinazzi had to take a fresh example of the old spec for the race in China, which means that the new spec he will run this weekend will be his third CE of the year – triggering a 10-place penalty, as drivers are only allowed two for the season.

Raikkonen managed to get to the end of the Chinese GP having used only his original CE in all three races. However, he is now on the bubble for penalties if he needs another during the year, as are the Ferrari and Haas drivers.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Kubica: Lowe not solely responsible for Williams crisis

Next article Azerbaijan Grand Prix: The anomaly event F1 needs?

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

1 h

Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict

Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 2 h

Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test

Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

3 h

Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics

Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 5 h

Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature

Feature

Discover prime content

Christian Horner's inside story of how Red Bull built its own F1 engine

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Christian Horner's inside story of how Red Bull built its own F1 engine

Exclusive video: Christian Horner interview on his Red Bull exit, Mercedes rivalry and more

Formula 1

By Autosport

Exclusive video: Christian Horner interview on his Red Bull exit, Mercedes rivalry and more

Why Mercedes' latest 2026 F1 update is no downgrade

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Mercedes' latest 2026 F1 update is no downgrade

'Senior moment' or breakdown of trust? The implications of Hamilton's Singapore GP meltdown

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Stuart Codling

'Senior moment' or breakdown of trust? The implications of Hamilton's Singapore GP meltdown

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts