Button to serve drive-through penalty in Canada after engine element changes

By Jun 7, 2015, 10:00 AM EDT
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McLaren has confirmed that Jenson Button will serve a drive-through penalty during today’s Canadian Grand Prix after the team changed two elements on his power unit overnight.

Button was unable to take part in Saturday’s qualifying session due to a problem on his engine, leaving him 20th on the grid for the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

In order to get the car fit for racing on Sunday, McLaren was forced to change two elements on the power unit, resulting in a further two grid penalties for Button.

As the Briton is unable to serve any of the 15 place grid (ten places for the first component change, five for the second), he will have to take a drive-through penalty in the race on Sunday.

Button is clearly hoping to take inspiration from his drive at the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix where he bounced back from six pit stops, a crash with teammate Lewis Hamilton and running last to win the race on the final lap ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Although a repeat seems improbable, Button is still be hoping to make the best of a bad situation and give McLaren something to smile about on Sunday.

“This morning we did a lot of set-up work in the car, and it felt much better than yesterday, so I was looking forward to qualifying,” Button said on Saturday.

“It was disappointing to miss it, therefore, but it happens – and we’ll make the best of it tomorrow.

“The guys have worked so hard this weekend; they did a great job of getting Fernando [Alonso]’s car back together for qualifying and they’ll do the same fantastic job as they always do with my car, but weekends like this one are tough for the whole team.

“It’ll be a long race, but I’m already looking forward to it.”

The Canadian Grand Prix is live on NBC from 2pm ET on Sunday, with F1 Countdown starting at 1:30pm ET on NBCSN.

IndyCar Power Rankings: Pato O’Ward moves to the top entering Texas Motor Speedway

By Mar 29, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT
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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17th after qualifying 14th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)