Again in 2023, there is a limit on the number of engine parts a driver can use. A number of drivers, including
Charles Leclerc, have already received grid penalties for using more parts than allowed.
Formula 1 World Championship leader
Max Verstappen is still comfortable within his engine pool.
A driver is allowed to replace the following engine parts four times: internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger (TC), MGU-K, MGU-H. At the beginning of the year, the
FIA set the limit at three, but during the
Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, it was increased to four. The control electronics (CE) and battery (ES) may only be renewed twice. Finally,
F1 teams are also allowed to replace the exhaust system (EX), which may be done a maximum of eight times in the 2023 season.
Mercedes are so far doing very well in terms of engine component reliability. Not even one driver with a Mercedes engine has received a grid penalty for using too many engine parts. The other team that have not yet received a grid penalty is Alpine, although
Pierre Gasly is now on the edge. At
Red Bull Racing,
Sergio Perez has already used more parts than allowed. In Australia, the Mexican started from the pit lane, after which his team decided to give some extra parts to Perez, after all, the grid penalty had no impact. Importantly, with
Daniel Ricciardo replacing
Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, the engine parts used for that car remain the same.