Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Fernando Alonso's grid penalties increase

Fernando Alonso's grid penalties at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix have gone up to 40 after an engine change before final practice on Saturday.

The McLaren driver already had a 15-place grid penalty but has been hit further after a switch to a new engine after trying an upgraded one on Friday.

Formula 1's complex rules governing engine usage mean Alonso incurs an extra 25 places for the new engine.

He will start behind team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, who has a 30-place penalty.

Drivers are permitted to use only four engines per season - with each engine split into six constituent parts, and penalties for using more than four of any of them.

The first time a fifth element is used the driver in question receives a 10-place penalty, with a further five places when a fifth of any of the remaining elements are used.

The same applies when a sixth element is used, and so on.

Alonso's initial 15-place penalty was for his sixth turbo and MGU-H, the part of the hybrid system that recovers energy from the turbo.

But after trying a development engine on Friday in Baku with encouraging results in terms of performance, Honda decided to switch back to the previous specification engine for the rest of the weekend.

Alonso was given a completely new power-unit - which was his fifth internal combustion engine and MGU-K and seventh turbo/MGU-H.

Further penalties for both McLaren drivers as the season progresses are inevitable as Honda seeks to improve both performance and reliability.