Stroll handed 40-place grid penalty at Madring
Lance Stroll received a 40-place grid penalty for exceeding power unit allocations with new components on his Aston Martin at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. He failed to set a qualifying time due to a suspected water pressure issue and requires stewards permission to start from the back of the grid.
Stroll incurs 40-place drop for power unit changes
Lance Stroll's Aston Martin received multiple new power unit elements ahead of the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring. These included a fifth internal combustion engine, fifth turbocharger, fifth MGU-K, sixth energy store, and seventh PU-ANC.[1]
Regulations impose a 10-place penalty for the first exceedance of any element and five places for subsequent ones, applied cumulatively. The combination produced a total 40-place penalty.[1]
Any penalty of 15 places or more requires a start from the back of the grid. Stroll must also obtain permission from stewards to compete after failing to record a qualifying lap time.[1]
Reliability issues compound the weekend
A suspected water pressure problem prevented Stroll from completing a timed lap in qualifying. Earlier sessions featured a suspected battery issue in FP2.[1]
Related reading
- [1]Lance Stroll gets grid penalty for Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid (formula1). Accessed 2026-09-12.