Sainz facing early grid penalty risk after Williams power unit changes
Carlos Sainz has new PU parts after his FP3 stoppage
Carlos Sainz is already risking a grid penalty in the 2026 Formula 1 season after Williams fitted multiple new power unit components to his FW48 ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard wasn’t able to take to the track in qualifying after his Williams came to a halt on his way back to the pits after his installation lap in FP3.
Carlos Sainz faces early grid penalty risk after Williams power unit changes
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Sainz didn’t complete a single lap on Saturday at Albert Park as, although he left the pits in FP3, he never made it back.
The former Ferrari driver suffered a loss of power on his opening lap and came to a halt at the pit entry.
That brought out the VSC as the marshals ran down to the stricken Williams, which was upgraded to a red flag a few minutes later as Sainz trudged down the pit lane with his session over.
Williams had to run diagnostics on the car before the mechanics could begin working on the issue, leaving Sainz stuck in the garage when qualifying began two hours after FP3.
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“We had an ERS [Energy Recovery System] package issue and we didn’t manage to solve it in time for qualifying,” Sainz explained.
“No laps in FP2, no laps in FP3, no laps in Q1 so a very disappointing first weekend with this set of regulations.
“No FP2 long run, no FP2 run on softs, no FP3 laps, no Q1. Even going into China next weekend, not being able to do mileage this weekend and not being able to do a qualifying session for the first time is not ideal to start the year.
“It looks like a long year ahead of us so hopefully we can start sorting our issues.”
Williams have subsequently fitted his FW48 with new parts, including a new energy store, control electronics, and a new power unit ancillary component.
The ES and PU-CE are his second of three for the season, while the PU-AC is his second of six permitted before penalties begin to apply.
Sainz will line up P21 for the grand prix.
Lance Stroll and Gabriel Bortoleto have also moved onto their second PU-AC.
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