Hadjar, Lindblad, and Colapinto to Face Grid Drops at Bahrain GP in Malaysia

Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad, and Franco Colapinto are all facing grid penalties at the Bahrain Grand Prix, held in the rather unexpected locale of Malaysia this weekend. Their infractions stem from exceeding their power unit component allocations, a common misstep in the high-stakes world of Formula 1.

For Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, it's a case of déjà vu. Fresh off a podium in Baku, he's now lugging around a seventh internal combustion engine (ICE), when only four are permitted per season. This means Hadjar will be penalized with a five-place grid drop, which might take some shine off his recent comeback from injury.

Meanwhile, Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad finds himself in even deeper trouble. He's taken his fifth ICE of the season, along with a fifth turbocharger and a new exhaust set. All this means he'll start from the back of the grid, courtesy of a daunting 30-place penalty.

Then there's Franco Colapinto of Alpine, who already had a five-place penalty on his plate from a previous incident in Azerbaijan involving his teammate Pierre Gasly and McLaren's Lando Norris. With his fifth ICE now added to the mix, Colapinto’s penalty grows by another ten places, further complicating his weekend.

The regulations are quite clear: the first time a driver exceeds any power unit element allocation, they receive a ten-place penalty. Subsequent offenses incur a five-place penalty each. If the penalties total more than 15 grid places, the driver starts at the back, much to their chagrin.

Qualifying in Sepang is set for 16:00 local time on Saturday, with the race kicking off at 15:00 on Sunday. For Hadjar, Lindblad, and Colapinto, it will be a weekend of damage limitation from the very start.