Sainz hit with 5-place grid drop in Sao Paulo after taking 6th internal combustion engine

Carlos Sainz will take a five-place grid drop for the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, after taking on his sixth new internal combustion engine of the year.

Sainz – who endured a lacklustre Mexico City Grand Prix last time out, as he finished a distant P5 – has also taken an eighth exhaust system, alongside the additional ICE.

With the Sao Paulo event being the third and final Sprint weekend of the season, Sainz’s five-place grid drop will come into effect for Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, rather then the 100km Sprint dash on Saturday afternoon.

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Along with Sainz, Alfa Romeo pairing Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu also took on their own eighth exhaust systems of the season – the final ones within their permitted allocation for 2022.