LANDO NORRIS WILL BE HANDED A 10-PLACE GRID PENALTY AT THE BELGIAN GP
Lando Norris will take a 10-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix after McLaren was forced to fit a fourth energy store electronics unit to his Mercedes power unit. The penalty comes earlier than the team had hoped and highlights the reliability challenges that have affected Mercedes-powered cars during the opening part of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Although the championship has not yet reached its halfway point, Norris has already exceeded the maximum number of power electronics components allowed under Formula 1 regulations. The power electronics unit is responsible for controlling the flow of electrical energy between the battery and the hybrid system, making it one of the key elements of the modern power unit.
According to McLaren, Norris’ first power electronics unit suffered an irreparable failure during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. The issue prevented him from starting the race and immediately put the team on the back foot for the remainder of the season.
A second unit was installed for the Japanese Grand Prix, but further reliability concerns appeared during practice. The component was removed and later repaired after the event, forcing McLaren to introduce a third and final unit permitted under the regulations. Although the repaired unit initially appeared to be usable, it suffered another terminal failure during the second practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Since then, the third power electronics unit has been used throughout every race weekend from Miami onwards without major issues. However, Mercedes has recently developed an updated specification aimed specifically at improving reliability after several teams experienced similar problems during the first half of the season.
To benefit from those improvements, McLaren had no choice but to introduce a fourth power electronics unit, automatically triggering a 10-place grid penalty for Norris under the FIA’s power unit allocation rules.
The team believes Spa-Francorchamps is the best place to take the penalty. Thanks to its long straights, multiple overtaking opportunities and the long Kemmel Straight, drivers have historically found it easier to recover positions at the Belgian circuit than at the next two venues on the calendar, Hungary and Zandvoort, where overtaking is generally much more difficult.
McLaren confirmed that the updated power electronics package includes reliability improvements designed by Mercedes after analysing the failures seen earlier this season. The team hopes the new specification will eliminate the problems that affected the previous units and allow Norris to complete the remainder of the championship without requiring another component change.
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