F1 world champion Lando Norris takes a 10-place grid penalty for Belgian Grand Prix
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Formula One world champion Lando Norris of McLaren before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 5, 2026.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS – Formula One world champion Lando Norris will take a 10-place grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix on July 19, after McLaren changed the power electronics unit on his car.
The Briton started the 2025 race in pole position but McLaren have been off the pace this season and are currently third overall, behind leaders Mercedes and Ferrari.
Drivers are allowed three power electronics units per season and the change exceeds the limit, triggering the mandatory penalty.
McLaren said the first unit suffered a terminal failure in China in March, leaving Norris unable to start that race.
The second unit was fitted for the Japanese Grand Prix, also in March, but had to be withdrawn for remedial work after issues in free practice.
It was repaired but then suffered a terminal issue in Monaco practice in June.
“While the power electronics unit we installed in Japan, and have used in every session since Miami, has worked reliably, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains has since introduced a series of reliability fixes,” the team said.
“However, in order to take advantage of these improvements, we must incur a 10-place grid penalty on Lando’s car in order to take a new unit.
“We have chosen to do this in Belgium, a circuit where overtaking is relatively more prevalent, as opposed to the following two events in Hungary and Zandvoort (Netherlands),” the team added.
McLaren said they planned to use this fourth unit for the remainder of the season.
Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli needs a win in Belgium to pump up his championship lead after two blanks in the last three races, but Ferrari could stand in his way.
The 19-year-old Mercedes driver also failed to score a point at Spa-Francorchamps in 2025, although he did set the fastest lap of the race. But he should be far more competitive this time – providing his car holds up.
Antonelli has seen his advantage shrink from 66 points over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton after Monaco in June to 25 points over teammate George Russell, who has had his own share of bad luck, due to mechanical problems.
At the same time, seven-time champion Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc have claimed wins for a resurgent and increasingly competitive Ferrari, now looking for a third victory in four races.
Both are also previous winners at Spa, with Hamilton chasing a sixth Belgian triumph to equal the record held by former Ferrari great Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton might already have the record for Belgian wins if it had not been for some wretched luck in the past, notably in 2008 when he finished first in teeming rain but was stripped of his win by a controversial post-race 25-second sanction.
Throw in the threat of Red Bull’s four-time champion Max Verstappen at a favourite and almost-home track, as well as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and Mercedes have plenty on their plate.
“The last few races have underlined both where our strengths are and where we need to improve,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
“Reliability issues have cost us points and in a championship this competitive, that is something we cannot afford. There is no value in having the pace if we don’t bring home the result.
“We have left too much on the table recently. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again, starting this weekend.”
Like Silverstone, Spa will involve more energy management than drivers would like but fans should still see exciting racing and overtaking opportunities at a popular circuit with even longer straights than Britain.
“I think it could be trickier with the energy management limitations on the straights but we have historically done well here, so you never know what will happen,” said Verstappen.
Spa is also one of the most fickle tracks, as well as one of the fastest, with the Ardennes forests having a micro-climate that defies long-range forecasts.
Current predictions are cloudy and cool with some sunshine, but showers can never be ruled out. Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur said it could be “a particularly demanding weekend”.
“It is one of the most challenging races of the year because of the characteristics of the track and the way the weather can change from one moment to the next in the Ardennes,” he added. REUTERS, AFP
