Jenson Button has been dealt a major blow to his chances of securing a strong result in the Monaco Grand Prix – his first race of the season after agreeing to stand in for Fernando Alonso, who is competing in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
Honda has confirmed the Briton's car requires a new MGU-H and Turbo Charger, both of which will be the fifth of four permitted components allowed per driver per season, resulting in a penalty.
"We have changed Jenson's MGU-H/TC after detecting an issue with his MGU-H after FP2. The MGU-H/TC will be Jenson's fifth, which means he will receive a 15-place grid penalty for the race," confirmed Honda.
The first use of a fifth version of any of the six elements that make up the power unit results in a 10-place grid drop, while the second used of a fifth element results in an additional five-place drop, and so on.
Although the regulations stipulate "per driver", Article 23.3 F states: "If a driver is replaced at any time during the Championship season his replacement will be deemed to be the original driver for the purposes of assessing power unit usage," meaning Button continues Alonso's component run.
Honda also confirmed multiple component changes for Stoffel Vandoorne, though these were "scheduled in order to control the mileage."
Several elements are components reused from previous Grands Prix, while only the MGU-K, Vandoorne's third of the year, is new.
Vandoorne, though, also has a grid penalty, in this instance three places, due to his collision with Felipe Massa in Spain.
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