Norris to have 10-place grid penalty in Belgium

McLaren driver Lando Norris will incur a 10‑place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa after the team exceeded the allowed number of power‑electronics components for the season. The penalty stems from fitting a fourth power‑electronics unit, one more than the regulations permit, while also adopting the latest Mercedes engine specification. The power‑electronics unit, which manages the car’s battery, has been a source of trouble for Mercedes‑supplied teams this year. McLaren opted to replace Norris’s existing unit—which lacks the reliability upgrades introduced after a string of failures earlier in the campaign—with a newer version that incorporates those fixes. Team officials explained that the decision to take the penalty at Spa was strategic. Overtaking is relatively straightforward on the Belgian circuit, and the race marks the final event before McLaren rolls out the first of two major upgrade packages. Recent races have seen McLaren slip behind the leading quartet as rivals introduced improvements, but the team anticipates that an aerodynamic package slated for the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix—positioned either side of Formula 1’s summer break—will restore competitiveness. McLaren argued that accepting the grid drop in Belgium is preferable to doing so in Hungary, where Norris’s car is expected to perform better but overtaking is notoriously difficult. “While the power‑electronics part we installed in Japan, and have used in every race since Miami, has worked reliably, Mercedes‑AMG High Performance Powertrains has since introduced a series of reliability fixes to their new power‑electronics systems,” a McLaren statement read. “However, in order to take advantage of these improvements, we must incur a 10‑place grid penalty on Lando’s car in order to fit a new unit.” The statement added, “We now plan to use this fourth power‑electronics part for the remainder of the season, in order to maximise reliability while minimising sporting penalties on Lando.” In addition to the power‑electronics change, McLaren will unveil a new rear‑wing configuration at Spa. The wing features a conventional opening design for straight‑line stability, contrasting with the somersaulting shapes employed by Ferrari and Red Bull this season. Red Bull itself has reverted to a more traditional wing after Max Verstappen suffered high‑speed crashes in the two preceding races, which were linked to problems with the innovative design.