Former champ gets more bad news heading into this weekend's race


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It's a good thing Fernando Alonzo makes $40 million a year because that's about the only thing that's gone right for him this Formula 1 season.

Plagued by engine problems all year, Alonso will start at the back of the field in this Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix after new equipment was installed in his car. In fact, this will be Alonso's ninth internal combustion engine, eleventh turbocharger, and 10th MGU-H so far this season.

With his team expected to struggle in Mexico City anyway, making these changes now will allow the team to avoid penalties at the final two races in Brazilian and Abu Dhabi, where the team hopes to be more competitive, according to Motorsport.com.

Alonso's teammate, Stoffel Vandoorne, will also start at the back in this Sunday's race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. This is Vandoorne's 10th internal combustion engine, 12th turbocharger, and 12th MGU-H of the year. However, the new engine in Vanoorne's ride experienced issues during Friday's practice so it had to be changed again.

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Not to be left out, Pierre Gasly also took a five spot penalty after his team installed a new control electronics system.

All of the penalties have been confirmed by the FIA and the FP1 released the documents on Friday.

You can catch Alonzo and Vandoorne try to make their way through the field when the Mexican Grand Prix begins at 3 p.m. this Sunday. Formula 1 fans can watch the race on NBC.

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