Baku Grid Shake-Up: Alonso and Stroll Hit With 30- and 20-Place Penalties
The starting grid for Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, lights out at 15:00 local (11:00 UTC, 20:00 KST) this Saturday 26 September, has been reshuffled by a wave of penalties handed down after qualifying. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll take 30- and 20-place power unit penalties respectively and are shuffled to the back of the grid, while Williams' Carlos Sainz and Cadillac's Sergio Perez both lose grid places following stewards' investigations. Pole-sitter George Russell is unaffected, but the order behind him looks nothing like Friday's qualifying result.
Who was penalised, and why
According to RaceFans, GPFans and RacingNews365, Sainz was handed a five-place penalty for 'failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags', dropping him from ninth to 14th. Perez received a three-place penalty for impeding Piastri, moving him to 20th. Both were sporting penalties following race director investigations during qualifying.
Aston Martin burns through a season's worth of engine parts
Alonso fitted his fifth engine, fifth turbocharger, ninth power unit ancillary (PU-ANC) component and a new energy store all at once, triggering a base 25-place penalty plus five more for a total of 30 places. Stroll's sixth turbocharger, seventh energy store, sixth control electronics and eighth PU-ANC brought a 20-place penalty. Under FIA rules, any penalty of 15 places or more sends a driver to the back of the grid regardless of qualifying position, so the pair line up 21st and 22nd — irrespective of their 19th and 21st qualifying times.
The adjusted grid
| Pos | Driver | Team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | Pole position |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | |
| 4 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | |
| 14 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 5-place penalty |
| 16 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 20 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 3-place penalty |
| 21 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 30-place penalty |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 20-place penalty |
Why it matters
With Alonso and Stroll starting from the back, Aston Martin is effectively out of the points fight this weekend. Team principal Mike Krack addressed Alonso's future, saying 'we've made clear that we want the team to continue, but we have to respect Fernando's thinking' — leaving the Spaniard's future with the team unresolved. Russell keeps his pole, while Antonelli, who hit the wall in Q1, starts 16th as he defends his championship lead.