Just in: FIA Confirms Staggering 80-Place Grid Penalty for F1 Star at US Grand Prix… See Details 

Just in: FIA Confirms Staggering 80-Place Grid Penalty for F1 Star at US Grand Prix… See Details

Audi star Gabriel Bortoleto has been handed a staggering 80-place grid penalty for the F1 United States Grand Prix at COTA later today.

The talented 22-year-old Brazilian will start the race in Austin, Texas, from the very back of the grid after the FIA confirmed his penalty for taking new power unit components outside of his allocation.

Bortoleto qualified in 13th position on Saturday afternoon in the Lone Star State, but that will mean nothing with a glut of penalties adding up to a grid drop of a staggering 80 places.

Why Bortoleto Received an 80-Place Grid Penalty at US Grand Prix

We are late in the 2026 season now, and it is the time of year when grid penalties for taking new power unit components become a pretty common occurrence. We explained how this all works recently, but in short, each driver/car only has a certain amount of each component before penalties start to kick in.

The FIA confirmed the penalties mounting up for Bortoleto ahead of the big race in Austin in two separate documents on their official website.

First, on Friday, we found out that Bortoleto had picked up 20 places in grid penalties for taking a 4th Energy Store (ES) and a 4th Control Electronics Unit (PU-CE). Each carried a 10-place drop.

Then, on Saturday, came even worse news for the Audi star, with the following new components being taken outside of his allowance:

• 5th Engine (ICE)
• 5th Turbocharger (TC)
• 5th Exhaust Set (EXH)
• 5th Energy Store (ES)
• 5th Control Electronics Unit (PU-CE)
• 4th MGU-K
• 7th Power Unit Ancillary Component (PU-ANC)

In its ruling, the FIA confirmed:

“The use of (Energy Store (ES) and Control Electronics Unit (PU-CE) additional element(s) carries a 5 grid place penalty by virtue of Article B8.2.8b of the FIA F1 Regulations and the use of Engine (ICE), Turbocharger (TC), Exhaust Set (EXH), MGU-K and Power Unit Ancillary Component (PU-ANC) additional element carries a 10 grid place penalty by virtue of Article B8.2.8a of the FIA F1 Regulations. Therefore there is an accumulation of 60 places.”

So, you add 20 together with 60 and you get 80, and Bortoleto moving all the way back to P22, which is as far as he can go.

The big race gets under way in Austin at 3pm local time, which is 8pm GMT after the overnight clock change in the UK.

Pole position, meanwhile, is with championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who could become the sport’s youngest ever world champion tonight.