Engine swap consigns Alonso to rear of the grid in Malaysia

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso is set to start the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix from the back of the grid as he tries out an upgraded Honda power unit in practice.

Rules permit a driver to use no more than five complete power units and their constituent components over the course of a season.

Running the upgraded power unit will result in Alonso taking on new variants of five of the six components that comprise it, which will cost the Spaniard 30 places tomorrow on the 22- car Sepang grid.

The double world champion took a similarly hefty engine- related penalty in last month’s Belgian GP at the Spa- Francorchamps circuit, where he also exceeded his permitted allo- cation of power unit parts.

“We knew these penalties would come,” said Alonso, who lost some of his allocation of power units to reliability issues earlier in the season.

“One of the best places was Spa because of the conditions of our engines at that point. The second best was maybe Malaysia, because the weather could play a big factor in the race . . . ”

Honda, engine suppliers to the Woking- based McLaren squad, have made steady progress after a difficult renewal of their once- dominant partnership last season.

The upgrade they have brought to Malaysia this weekend is the latest in a spate of enhancements to the engine over the course of the year.

The latest change features a lighter engine block and a redesigned exhaust aimed at boosting the power unit’s efficiency, a Honda spokesperson said.

Alonso finished seventh in Belgium, despite having started last, and is targeting another points finish tomorrow.

“That’s the target for both cars,” he said. “Even if I start last, then hope- fully we can recover places quite soon.”

The 35- year- old, who took his first pole position in Malaysia and has won the race three times, i s 11th in the drivers’ standings.

Teammate Jenson Button, celebrating his 300th grand prix start this weekend, is 19 points adrift in 15th.