F1 engine penalty risk in Austria: Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and George Russell close to limit. Updated Power Unit Usage Ahead of Austrian GP: Key Drivers Facing Grid Penalties.

Now past the first third of the season—10 Grands Prix and two Sprints into a 24-race calendar with four more Sprints to come—the data shows that teams are relatively aligned in power unit usage. Some have already chosen to take penalties, capitalising on poor race results in Canada to introduce new components.

Most teams have now used 2 of the 4 permitted components for the internal combustion engine, turbocharger, MGU-H and MGU-K, either due to reliability issues or regular rotation. Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Alonso’s Aston Martin, and Ocon’s Haas have all reached 3 components in each of these categories, while Alpine—now running Franco Colapinto—is already at risk of penalty, having used all 4 allowed units.

The situation is slightly different on the electrical side of the power unit. The Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda, the VCARB of Lawson, and the Alpine of Gasly have already taken grid penalties after exceeding the limit with 3 Energy Stores (ES) and 3 Control Electronics (CE). Meanwhile, the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, the other Alpine, the other VCARB, Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and George Russell’s Mercedes are all in the orange zone—meaning one more change would trigger a grid drop.

With such a long championship ahead, reliability will be a critical factor. The regulations place strict limits on the number of components that can be used without incurring grid penalties. These limits particularly apply to power unit elements as well as gearbox and transmission components.

According to Article 28.2 of the regulations, in the 2025 season each driver may use no more than 4 internal combustion engines (ICE), 4 MGU-H, 4 MGU-K, and 4 turbochargers (TC), along with just 2 batteries (ES), 2 control electronics (CE), and 8 exhaust systems.