Engine change for Massa
Ferrari will replace Felipe Massa’s engine before the first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain this afternoon. The Brazilian, a two-time winner in Sakhir, qualified on the front row of the starting grid alongside Sebastian Vettel but will not receive a 10-place penalty for this change. According to the old rules, each driver’s engine […]
Ferrari will replace Felipe Massa’s engine before the first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain this afternoon. The Brazilian, a two-time winner in Sakhir, qualified on the front row of the starting grid alongside Sebastian Vettel but will not receive a 10-place penalty for this change.
According to the old rules, each driver’s engine had to last only one weekend, then two race weekends, Massa would have dropped 10 places for the change even though, since 2009, each driver has 8 power units for the entire season.
« Not the best start to the day. We will replace Felipe’s engine as a precaution. The engine can be reused for free practice. » can be read on Ferrari’s Twitter.
According to the current technical regulations, a driver only receives a 10-place penalty after using their ninth engine of the season. If a tenth engine is used during the same weekend as the ninth, the 10-place penalty will be applied both for the race weekend in question and the following one.
