F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Latifi to join Perez for Dutch GP pitlane start

Williams' Nicholas Latifi will join Red Bull's Sergio Perez for a pitlane start in Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix, following engine and transmission changes to the two drivers' respective cars.

Perez's botched qualifying session which the Mexican concluded a lowly P16 encouraged Red Bull to consider the tactical option of introducing a new power unit into the driver's pool of hardware.

While an engine change would have simply sent Perez to the back of the grid, Honda has taken the opportunity to also introduce a new specification energy store, which automatically triggers a pitlane start.

But the setback has nevertheless allowed Red Bull to undertake changes to Perez's set-up in a bid to help the Mexican's performance in Sunday's race.

Latifi made the Q2 cut on Saturday and qualified P14, but the Canadian's qualifying was cut short by a heavy crash that significantly damaged his Williams' gearbox.

The subsequent change implied a five-place grid drop but the Grove-based outfit has elected to mount a different specification front wing on Latifi's car for Sunday's race, a change which also equates to a pitlane start for the Williams charger.

The pitlane starts will benefit AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda who moves up to P14 on the Dutch Grand Prix grid, ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica, and Haas' Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin who all gain two positions in the race's starting order.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Sad Colapinto laments two crashes in one day in Sao Paulo

Williams suffered a bruising time on Sunday in Sao Paulo, with Alex Albon unable to…

28 mins ago

McLaren: No regrets over timing of Norris pit stop in Sao Paulo GP

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has insisted that the squad has no regrets about their…

2 hours ago

Williams' Boutsen hoists the mainsail in Adelaide

On this day in 1989, Williams' Thierry Boutsen secured his second F1 win when he…

3 hours ago

Horner: Max 'answered critics' with epic Sao Paulo GP drive

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s sensational Sao Paulo Grand Prix victory…

4 hours ago

Sainz left puzzled by double crash drama in rainy São Paulo

Carlos Sainz was left scratching his head after a disastrous Sunday at the Sao Paulo…

5 hours ago

Alonso pushed through agonizing pain to complete Sao Paulo GP

Fernando Alonso braved both physical agony and mechanical challenges in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix,…

6 hours ago