Esteban Ocon calls for review after plethora of grid penalties at Monza

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon has suggested that the sport needs to look at grid penalties and component changes after the confusion following the Italian Grand Prix qualifying session.

The Frenchman is one of nine drivers that starts this afternoon’s race carrying a grid penalty, and it caused quite a bit of uncertainty after qualy as to where each driver would be starting, with so many suffering a drop.

The grid penalties, of course, are caused by teams making component changes to their cars that are over the allocated limit, and Ocon has suggested that more components might need to be made available in terms of that limit to try and avoid some of the muddle that played out at Monza.

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We do, of course, have a grid now for the race later today but Ocon was critical of the current set-up, with him speaking to the press here in Italy after the session:

“I would say maybe if we allocate one more engine for everybody.

“I mean, no manufacturer manages really with such few parts for the whole season. We are racing at too many. We’re doing too many races. And it’s just not possible. I mean, everybody proved it. We’ve had two penalties. Some manufacturers have had many more penalties. So it’s not only us, it’s the whole field, really.

“So yeah, it’s probably something to review by next year to up the number of parts a little bit.”

The Frenchman lines up in P14 later today thanks to a five-place grid penalty, and he’ll hope that the Alpine has strong enough race pace to get him inside the top 10 come the end of the Grand Prix.

A mixed grid usually makes for an exciting race but some drivers have expressed their concerns that things might get a little processional in what is known as a