Latest news with #powerunits
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Four Drivers Set to Start Belgian Grand Prix from Pit Lane, Rain Threatens Start
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso have all had new power units installed ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. With the changes unapproved by the FIA, the trio will start the race from the pit lane along with Carlos Sainz, who made unapproved adjustments to his Williams as well. Hamilton was set to start 16th after having his best lap time deleted, Antonelli qualified in 18th, and Alonso in 19th. The teams saw the poor starting positions ahead of what is set to be a wet and unpredictable race as the perfect excuse to add fresh units to their garages. Alonso and Antonelli's changes included the Internal Combustion Engine, Turbo Charger, Motor Generator Unit -Heat, and Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic. These four new units are all the fifth of the year and trigger a 10-place grid penalty each, resulting in a 40-grid-place penalty, which is converted to a pit-lane start after 15 grid places. Hamilton's changes included those mentioned above, along with a sixth Engine Exhaust System and a new energy store and control electronics, resulting in a 60-grid-place penalty. Williams Racing made setup changes to Sainz's No. 55 car during parc fermé, leading to a fourth pit lane start for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix. Only 16 cars will start on the grid when the grand prix gets underway. As the start time nears, heavy rain is moving towards the track, with a safety car start or delay in start time expected. The last time the weather was this bad at Spa resulted in a rule change after the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which ended after just three safety car laps, giving Max Verstappen the win and full points. After the 2021 season, the FIA revised its rules to stipulate that at least two laps must be completed under green flag conditions for a race to be counted and award points. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BBC News
4 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Belgian Grand Prix build-up - radio & text
Update: Date: 13:17 BST Title: Several pit-lane starters Content: Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso are all starting from the pit lane today after changing their power units. Carlos Sainz also starts from the pit lane after changing the set-up on his car during parc ferme. Update: Date: 13:12 BST Title: 'I'm proud of the improvements I've been making' - Norris Content: Pole sitter Lando Norris, speaking to Sky Sports: "I've been working hard to try and improve, it's an important season and it's my job just as much as it's a teams job to try and give me a car that I like to drive. "It's also just my job to just drive whatever I have you know, I've been working a lot on trying to improve things and get better myself. "I think that's what I'm most proud about, not just the momentum and wins alone, but just the improvements that I've been making." Update: Date: 13:09 BST Title: Get involved Content: #bbcf1, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) How do you see today going, then? Expecting any big battles through the field from those towards the back? Let us know your podium predictions and all thoughts Belgian Grand Prix-related via #bbcf1, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Update: Date: 13:06 BST Title: Weather update Content: Ian FergussonBBC weather forecaster Air temp is 18C & track recently 26C under brighter conditions. However, a trough approaching from the west looks set to threaten further showers, potentially heavy/thundery in the area, arriving from ~2pm local to race start. Update: Date: 13:03 BST Title: 'A typical Spa day' Content: Andrew BensonBBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps The rain has been intermittent all day so far, stopping and starting, and varying in intensity, sometimes a downpour, sometimes just spitting. So, a typical Spa day, then. But that means the grand prix takes on a whole extra level of seriousness. This track is unforgiving at the best of times. In the wet it becomes extreme, and history has taught the sport lessons of the most tragic nature here. For that reason, decisions about whether to race or not will hang heavy, with two varying contingencies - is there enough grip, and is there enough visibility? Either could prevent the race starting, or cause it to be stopped. The high-speed nature of Spa means that it takes less rain to stop the cars running than would be the case at Monaco, for example, because the faster the cars go, the more spray they produce, so the quicker it gets to the visibility threshold. If it's wet enough for the extreme tyre to be needed, that probably means it's too wet to race. Officials will also be aware of the danger of a car crashing on the straight and coming back on to the track, where it can be hit in the spray by another. Those accidents are typically the most dangerous of all. The intermediate tyres wear quite quickly at Spa, and if the rain intensifies, the drivers will want fresh tyres, so this could be a race of multiple stops in the wet. A pit stop takes about 20 seconds under green-flag conditions, half that under a safety car. Update: Date: 13:00 BST Title: Three from three? Content: Lando Norris put it together when it mattered as he gave himself the best chance of making it three wins in a row by securing pole position yesterday. His eyes will be set on hauling in Oscar Piastri's nine-point advantage at the top of the drivers' championship. But, after a dry weekend so far, the rain has arrived today...
