F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ocon gets penalty-free power unit change after fire

Alpine has been forced to replace Esteban Ocon's power unit for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix but there will be no penalty for the Frenchman as the new unit was already part of his pool of hardware.

Ocon endured an eventful Sprint event on Saturday at Interlagos marked by a double clash with teammate Fernando Alonso that ruined his race.

But as he returned to the pits after the 24-lap race, a fuel leak set his Alpine ablaze.

While the fire was quickly extinguished by the marshals, it had significantly damaged the A522's engine and several of its components.

"As a result of the fuel leak on Esteban’s car after Saturday’s sprint qualifying [race] and the subsequent damage caused by the fire, the team has changed his PU for today’s race from his pool," said Alpine in a statement.

"This means he will not take a grid penalty and will start today’s race from 17th place. The damaged parts on the chassis have also been replaced."

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

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Why ex-Red Bull drivers see Hadjar keeping pace with Verstappen

Isack Hadjar is facing the ultimate baptism of fire this season in F1: going wheel-to-wheel…

38 mins ago

The day Fangio went missing in Havana

The great Juan Manuel Fangio certainly enjoyed a storied motorsport career but the episode that…

2 hours ago

‘I want to win’ – Herta responds to Cadillac’s F2 expectations

Colton Herta has been handed a clear target by Cadillac ahead of his rookie FIA…

3 hours ago

Red Bull best at deployment but Mercedes closing the gap - Russell

George Russell believes Red Bull Racing still holds Formula 1’s sharpest weapon when it comes…

4 hours ago

Bearman stunned by Ferrari rear wing trick: ‘What the f***?!’

Oliver Bearman has revealed his stunned reaction to Ferrari’s dramatic rear wing innovation on its…

6 hours ago

Grosjean: IndyCar ‘way faster’ than F1… in certain corners

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of speed, but former Haas charger and IndyCar returnee Romain…

22 hours ago