Valtteri Bottas will start from the back of the grid for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after taking new engine components.
The Mercedes driver was forced to retire from the Brazilian Grand Prix two weeks ago following a failure, reportedly linked to high oil consumption as he closely followed Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Now, it has been confirmed Bottas will take a new internal combustion engine, turbo and MGU-H resulting in a penalty that automatically triggers a back of the grid start.
The new components will at least give the Finn a performance advantage over the rest of the field as they try to nurse their final engine to the finish line.
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Comebacks through the field are not impossible either despite Abu Dhabi’s history of being a tough place to overtake, notably Sebastian Vettel came through from the back of the grid to third in 2012.
Mercedes are also unbeaten in the season finale since 2014 with Bottas himself winning in 2017, so while the grid drop is a setback, there’s still plenty for the Valtteri to fight for.
Confirmation of the penalty will come from the FIA on Friday.
