McLaren handed extra power unit

Editor

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button will be allowed to use an extra power unit this season without any penalties following a tweak to the sporting regulations.

With the renewed McLaren-Honda partnership off to a difficult start, Alonso and Button took only seven races to go through their four allocated power units and were handed 25-place grid penalties in Austria after using a fifth.

However, "for the sake of fairness", the FIA Strategy Group has decided to change the rules slightly and allow the Honda-powered team to use an additional engine as they are still in their first season after returning to the sport.

"It was agreed to allow an extra power unit per driver in the first year to any new manufacturer entering the championship and, for the sake of fairness, the measure will apply retroactively to Honda for the 2015 season," a statement from the FIA read.