Lando Norris will start the Belgian Grand Prix with a 10-place grid penalty after McLaren introduced a fourth power electronics unit on his car.
Formula One regulations allow only three such units per season before penalties apply.
Norris had terminal issues with his first two units earlier this year, at the Chinese Grand Prix in March and during free practice in Monaco last month.
A McLaren statement explained the decision to take the penalty in Belgium rather than at upcoming races.
“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,” 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.”
McLaren chose Belgium because overtaking is relatively easier there compared to the following events in Hungary and Zandvoort.
The team plans to use this fourth unit for the remainder of the season to maximize reliability while minimizing sporting penalties.
Norris, the reigning champion who won last year’s title by just two points over Max Verstappen, currently sits fifth in the driver standings.
He trails leader Kimi Antonelli by 82 points.
