Alonso hit with 35-place grid penalty

McLaren’s penalty tally for the season continues to rise with Fernando Alonso facing a 35-place grid drop at the Japanese Grand Prix.

A hydraulic leak on Friday meant Honda were forced to change his power unit overnight.

The Japanese manufacturer opted to fit a completely new engine meaning an eighth ICE, 10th turbo and MGU-H, and eighth MGU-K, seventh battery, and sixth control electronics unit.

As such Alonso is facing a 35-place grid penalty.

“Hard luck, had an unexpected engine change last night that will compromise again the GP, but an extreme team effort from the #14 crew working all night to have the car ready,” he wrote on Instagram.

“I will try my best and we will fight back.”

According to Auto Motor und Sport, Alonso will still be “running Honda spec 3.7 after this engine change – that’s the old spec. New spec 4.0 not ready yet.”