All Renault-powered drivers get new-spec units for Canada

©WRI

All six drivers with Renault power units will get upgrades for this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, and works team drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz will be on an equal footing for this weekend's race.

Renault had previously announced that it would be rolling out its first major upgrade of the season at Montreal but had been unsure whether all drivers would get the new V6 in time.

Availability of some components could have meant some drivers having to hold on to their existing power units for another race before receiving the upgrade in France.

But the FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer has confirmed that all six drivers have received new internal combustion engines and MGU-H components for this weekend.

Everyone except Alonso also receives a new new traction control unit. Alonso already received a new unit at a previous event. He does however receive a new MGU-K for Canada - his second of the season.

In addition, Verstappen, Hulkenberg and Sainz get their first new control electronics systems of the season.

Honda have also upgraded power unit elements for Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley this weekend.

And Ferrari is rolling out a new ICE and MGU-H for Sebastian Vettel, and traction control units for Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

Sauber drivers Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson and Haas duo Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen had already opted to take the engine upgrade last time out in Monaco.

Ricciardo still hoping to avoid a grid drop in Montreal

Raikkonen meanwhile has to wait for the new engine, having already taken his second original-specification ICE of the season in Spain.

However Mercedes has been forced to delay upgrades to their six works team and customer cars due to reliability concerns.

So far everyone is within their allowed component usage, meaning that none of the changes listed will incur grid penalties.

After problems with his MGU-K in Monaco, Ricciardo has avoided a penalty by reverting to an old unit last used in China. Red Bull boss Christian Horner insisted that the team wasn't unduly concerned about the situation.

"No more worried than normal to be honest," Horner told Sky Sports F1. "It's done a few events and a bit of mileage. It's his first unit that's gone back in the car, he's got no others available. Hopefully he'll be alright."

However the Australian is on the cusp of being penalised when he makes any more changes in 2018. That will be a major setback to his hopes of featuring in the title battle at the end of the season.

Power Element Usage

Driver	ICE	TC	MGU-H	MGU-K	ES	CE
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton	1	1	1	1	1	1
Valtteri Bottas	1	1	1	1	2	2
Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel	2	2	2	1	1	2
Kimi Räikkönen	2	3	2	1	1	2
Red Bull/TAG Heuer
Daniel Ricciardo	3	3	3	2	2	2
Max Verstappen	2	3	2	3	1	2
Force India/Mercedes
Sergio Pérez	1	1	1	1	2	1
Esteban Ocon	1	1	1	1	1	1
Williams/Mercedes
Lance Stroll	1	1	1	1	1	1
Sergey Sirotkin	1	1	1	1	1	1
Renault
Nico Hülkenberg	2	2	3	1	1	2
Carlos Sainz	2	2	3	1	1	2
Toro Rosso/Honda
Brendon Hartley	3	3	3	2	2	2
Pierre Gasly	3	3	3	2	2	2
Haas/Ferrari
Romain Grosjean	2	2	2	1	1	1
Kevin Magnussen	2	2	2	1	2	2
McLaren/Renault
Fernando Alonso	2	2	2	2	1	1
Stoffel Vandoorne	2	2	2	1	1	2
Sauber/Ferrari
Marcus Ericsson	2	2	2	1	1	1
Charles Leclerc	2	2	2	1	1	1

Notes:

ICE: Internal Combustion Engine
TC: Turbo Charger
MGU-H: Motor Generator Unit – Heat
MGU-K: Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic
ES: Energy Store
CE: Control Electronics

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.