{"id":3172,"date":"2026-10-01T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=3172"},"modified":"2026-10-01T08:43:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:43:00","slug":"sepang-f1-grid-penalties-hadjar-lindblad-and-colapinto-face-starting-setbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/sepang-f1-grid-penalties-hadjar-lindblad-and-colapinto-face-starting-setbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Sepang F1 grid penalties: Hadjar, Lindblad and Colapinto face starting setbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hadjar expects a five-place grid drop<\/strong> linked to power unit component usage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lindblad will start at the back<\/strong> after Racing Bulls confirmed component changes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Colapinto loses five places<\/strong> following the collision with Gasly and Norris in Azerbaijan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grid penalties are already set to reshape the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia before qualifying begins. Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto face starting setbacks for <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">Formula 1\u2019s<\/a> return to Sepang, although <strong>their final positions cannot be established until qualifying and the application of all penalties<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cases have different origins. Hadjar and Lindblad face consequences from power unit component changes, while Colapinto brings a sporting sanction from the previous round in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sepang grid penalties explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Driver<\/th><th>Team<\/th><th>Penalty announced or expected<\/th><th>Reason<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Isack Hadjar<\/strong><\/td><td>Red Bull<\/td><td>Expected five-place drop<\/td><td>Power unit component allocation exceeded; specific replacement component not identified in the available information<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Arvid Lindblad<\/strong><\/td><td>Racing Bulls<\/td><td>Back-of-the-grid start<\/td><td>Multiple fresh power unit components<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Franco Colapinto<\/strong><\/td><td>Alpine<\/td><td>Five-place drop<\/td><td>Baku collision penalty carried forward after he could not serve it during the race<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The table reflects information available on Thursday morning. <strong>It is a penalty overview, rather than a provisional starting grid.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hadjar faces a recovery after his Baku podium<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hadjar revealed the expected five-place sanction while speaking at Sepang on Thursday. It complicates his second weekend back after a wrist injury, following his third-place finish in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is a bit difficult for me as I should be taking a five-place penalty,\u201d Hadjar said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we don\u2019t, then that means we\u2019re not fast enough; that\u2019s it,\u201d he added when discussing the need to recover through race pace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His car has already exceeded its permitted component allocation. Usage during Liam Lawson\u2019s appearances as his replacement counts towards the same allocation: <strong>a driver substitution does not reset the component tally<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hadjar also expects Sepang to offer a tougher assessment of Red Bull\u2019s competitiveness than Baku, where both cars reached the podium. The penalty increases the importance of having sustained performance over a race stint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lindblad must start from the back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Racing Bulls confirmed that Lindblad will receive multiple fresh power unit components at Sepang, triggering a <strong>back-of-the-grid start<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That differs from a five-place drop. Lindblad cannot preserve a front-running starting position by qualifying strongly: the sanction places him behind the drivers whose penalties do not require a rear-of-grid start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, a back-of-the-grid penalty should not automatically be described as a guaranteed last-place start. The final order depends on other sanctions and the applicable grid procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lindblad finished seventh in Baku, but his Malaysian weekend will now require a recovery through the field after the component changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Colapinto carries his Baku sanction into Malaysia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Colapinto\u2019s five-place drop follows the collision involving Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly and McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Argentine initially received a <strong>10-second time penalty<\/strong>. Because he retired without serving it, the sanction was converted into a five-place grid penalty for his next race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His qualifying time will remain valid, but his starting position will be adjusted when the penalties are applied. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> explains the circumstances in its <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/colapintos-five-place-grid-penalty-what-it-means-for-the-bahrain-gp-in-malaysia\/\">report on Colapinto\u2019s five-place penalty for Sepang<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-04-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"F1 2026, AZERBAIJ\u00c3O, TREINOS LIVRES, ALPINE, FRANCO COLAPINTO\" class=\"wp-image-1020315927\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-04-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-04-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-04-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-04-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-04-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Franco Colapinto (Foto: Alexander Seregin\/ASPPA Images Europe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why qualifying will not tell the whole story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saturday\u2019s qualifying classification and Sunday\u2019s starting grid will therefore differ. Hadjar and Colapinto face positional drops, while Lindblad\u2019s sanction requires a start at the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Simply adding five to a driver\u2019s qualifying position does not establish the complete grid.<\/strong> Multiple penalties can affect the same positions, and the final arrangement must account for every sanctioned driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A grid update after qualifying will provide the relevant starting order. Until then, the confirmed and expected penalties explain the setbacks these drivers face without assigning positions that remain unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formula 1 returns this weekend, from 2\u20134 October, to Malaysia, which hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will cover all the action at Sepang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">F1 today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on Sunday, 4 October, taking his first victory of the 2026 F1 season. Kimi Antonelli finished second, with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why was the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia delayed?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heavy rain initially delayed the start at Sepang. Several drivers then experienced power delivery problems during the formation procedure, forcing race control to suspend the start again. The race eventually began more than 90 minutes after its scheduled time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How far ahead is Kimi Antonelli in the F1 championship?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell by 84 points after finishing second at Sepang while his Mercedes teammate retired. Antonelli has 320 points, Russell has 236 and Lewis Hamilton is third with 214.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which drivers face grid penalties at Sepang?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hadjar expects a five-place drop, Lindblad will start at the back following power unit changes, and Colapinto carries a five-place penalty from Baku.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hadjar expects a five-place drop, Lindblad will start at the back and Colapinto carries a five-place penalty from Baku into the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020310244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Red Bull Content Pool","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":7,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[630,668,255,161],"42wp_author":[7],"class_list":["post-3172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-bahrain-grand-prix-in-malaysia","tag-f1-grid-penalties","tag-franco-colapinto","tag-isack-hadjar","42wp_author-victor-martins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3173,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3172\/revisions\/3173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020310244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3172"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}