Norris to Drop 10 Grid Places at Belgian Grand Prix

Lando Norris will start the Belgian Grand Prix from 10 places further back on the grid after McLaren opted to fit a new power electronics unit on his car. The move pushes Norris over the permitted number of such components for the season.

The power electronics unit acts as the computer controlling the car's battery and has been a source of reliability issues for Mercedes-powered teams this year. McLaren decided to install the latest Mercedes engine specification alongside the new unit because Norris's previous unit lacked the reliability fixes introduced after a series of failures.

By taking the penalty at Spa-Francorchamps, McLaren aims to minimise the impact, as overtaking is relatively easy on this circuit. It also comes before the team introduces the first of two major upgrade packages, which will debut at the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix. McLaren hopes these aerodynamic updates will restore their competitiveness after falling behind the top four teams in recent races.

Norris has had a troubled start to 2023: he failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix due to a power electronics failure, and a subsequent unit failed during practice in Japan. That unit was repaired but then failed again in Monaco practice.

McLaren confirmed in a statement that the new unit will allow them to use the latest reliability upgrades and plans to run this fourth unit for the remainder of the season. Additionally, the team will debut a new rear wing design at Spa, featuring a conventional opening style rather than the 'somersault' design introduced by Ferrari and Red Bull. Red Bull themselves have reverted to a conventional wing this weekend after Max Verstappen crashed due to issues with their innovative design.