The Japanese AlphaTauri driver will start Sunday’s race of the F1 Belgian GP 2022 from the pitlane after a power unit change, which sees title contenders Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc move up one position on the grid. grill.
Yuki Tsunoda qualified 19th in the Faenza car on Saturday after a bad lap in Q1 prevented him from making the cut, although the large number of penalties saw him climb to 13th place.
However, the Italian team has chosen to mount new elements in the Japanese power unit before the race. Thus, they will debut an engine, turbo, MGU-H and MGU-K , and because it has been done without the approval of the FIA technical delegate, they are forced to start from the pitlane at Sunday’s appointment.
That means all drivers who received penalties at the back of the grid at the Belgian GP will move up one place from their provisional positions, including championship leader Max Verstappen.
The Red Bull driver was going to start the test from 15th position, but now he will do it from 14th , which is a small help in his hopes of fighting for victory against his teammate Sergio Pérez and against Carlos Sainz.
The Dutchman led the standings and was more than six tenths ahead of the Spaniard from Ferrari, despite not making the last attempt in Q3, and many in the paddock are betting on his victory. Mercedes youngster George Russell believes Verstappen could win “comfortably” despite his starting place.
When asked about his chances of getting to the top of the podium, the Dutchman replied: “I need a bit of luck for that. Especially in the first few laps, not to lose too much time, and if there is a train with the DRS It will be much more difficult to overtake.”
Charles Leclerc, for his part, is 80 points behind the current world champion, and will start 15th , ahead of Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher.
Valtteri Bottas also gains a position, thus becoming 13th , since he does not have a penalty that sent him to the bottom of the grid for changing engine and gearbox components, which are independent of each other.
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