Racing
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David Coulthard says Formula 1 should review and potentially remove grid penalties for exceeding power unit component limits, arguing the sanction has become an outdated rule that teams can now use strategically rather than a meaningful deterrent.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, the former Formula 1 driver said, “I still think we should have a bit of a review of all of those penalties.” He added that the system came from “a bygone era” when the sport was trying to push teams toward better reliability, but that “quickly, it's in everyone's interest to be reliable.”
Under the current rules, each driver is limited in how many power unit components can be used across a season before automatic grid penalties are triggered. Coulthard's argument is that teams have learned to manage that system by taking the hit at circuits with long straights and stronger overtaking opportunities, reducing the punishment's impact.
He pointed to last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix as a clear example. Lando Norris took a 10-place grid drop for power unit changes and started 13th, while Isack Hadjar was sent to the back after a 30-place penalty. Both still charged through the field.
Hadjar stopped early for hard tyres and finished sixth, a recovery Coulthard highlighted as evidence that the rule no longer works as intended. “It did give the opportunity for Hadjar who went with the early stop to hards and drove brilliantly thereafter,” he said.
Coulthard also noted that Norris “could arguably have stopped under the virtual safety car,” but still recovered to seventh. For Coulthard, the fact that both drivers were able to turn heavy grid sanctions into strong points finishes showed the weakness of a regulation he believes “does not belong in the current era of F1.”
That leaves the rule looking less like a tool to force better reliability and more like a penalty structure teams can absorb when the track and car performance make recovery possible.