Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Bottas will receive a 15-place penalty for the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Russia because his Mercedes is equipped with new drive components.
He is one of several drivers who will drop out of qualifying. Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Nicholas Latifi all had changes to the drive unit before Saturday’s session.
Since then it has been certain that Antonio Giovinazzi will also start at the back for today’s race.
Bottas qualified for seventh place on Saturday in mixed conditions, while Giovinazzi fell in qualifying 1 on his way to 18th fastest time.
With the penalties for Latifi, Leclerc and Verstappen, they would have moved up to seventh and 16th respectively.
However, both will now fold down the order.
In the case of Bottas, Mercedes opted for a fifth combustion engine, turbocharger and MGU-H, which means a decrease of 15 places in total.
Last place on the grid is Giovinazzi after Alfa Romeo Sauber changed the gearbox in his car after qualifying.
With this move out of sequence, the Italian will drop five places.
Bottas started from the end of the grid at the Italian Grand Prix after Mercedes had also changed its engine in Monza.
His team is currently leading the constructors’ championship 18 points ahead of Red Bull.
The Russian Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 10:00 p.m. AEST tonight.
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