Power unit component usage ahead of the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix. Seb had a precautionary change of the control electronics ahead of qualifying for the Bahrain GP.

As we get ready for the ‘official’ first European round on the calendar this weekend, let’s take a look at what power unit components each driver has used so far in the opening four rounds of the season. The Spanish Grand Prix is the start of the European leg and the fifth round on the calendar, therefore ideally each driver would have used just one of each component as under the rules, each component should last between seven and 11 races.

That’s because the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Turbo-charger (TC) and Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H) are limited to three per car per season, whilst the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), Energy Store (ES) and Control Electronics (CE) are limited to just two.

Currently Daniel Ricciardo finds himself in the worst situation having already used one of each component. Should a driver go above their allocation, they face being handed a grid penalty of five or ten places. Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel had a precautionary change of the control electronics of his power unit ahead of qualifying for the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix. Sebastian is within his allocation for the season, but the Maranello team will be hoping to be able to use the previous control electronics in order to avoid penalties later in the season.