Lando Norris dealt massive blow ahead of Belgian Grand Prix

Lando Norris will have a 10-place grid penalty at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix after McLaren exceeded the permitted allocation of engine components.

The reigning world champion's McLaren is being equipped with a fresh battery unit, his fourth of the campaign, surpassing the maximum three allowed under Formula 1 regulations.

McLaren opted to install the new component alongside the most recent Mercedes power unit specification, as Norris's previous engine lacked reliability improvements implemented following multiple failures throughout the season.

The Woking-based outfit, which secured both the drivers' and constructors' titles last year, has endured a challenging 2026 campaign marked by performance struggles and mechanical problems.

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The team selected the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for this penalty due to the opportunities to overtake.

McLaren slipped behind their leading rivals in recent rounds as competitors rolled out improvements.

The outfit anticipates their new developments across the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix – scheduled on either side of the summer break – will restore their competitive edge.

Taking the grid drop in Belgium rather than Hungary made tactical sense, as the team expects performance levels similar to the recent British Grand Prix, with far better passing opportunities than at the notoriously difficult Hungaroring, where their upgraded car should perform more strongly.

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Commenting on the penalty, Norris said: "I have to wait and see really how the overtaking is.

"We probably have a small straight-line speed advantage, comparing to people a little bit further back. So comparing to them we should have a good chance.

"To just overtake in general could be pretty difficult here. But the slipstream is pretty big, and there are still a few straights, but there's no straight-line mode, and therefore the slipstream is pretty large, and you can gain a good amount from that.

"But we know it's better than Zandvoort, and better than Hungary taking penalties. I hope it's not the end of my weekend before it started, but I'm still confident we can have a good race."

The penalty follows a series of power electronics failures that have plagued Norris throughout the season.

The component, which functions as a control computer within the battery module, caused him to miss the start of the Chinese Grand Prix in March after a terminal malfunction.

A second unit developed problems during practice in Japan and was subsequently repaired, only to fail again during Monaco practice sessions.

McLaren confirmed the news in a statement, saying: "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 to their new power electronics systems.

"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 now plan to use this fourth power electronics unit for the remainder of the season, in order to maximise reliability while minimising sporting penalties on Lando."

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