Max Verstappen will start the Belgian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after Red Bull elected to install a new gearbox in his vehicle. As of now, Verstappen is the only F1 driver to have used more than four gearbox components in a single season. Instead of affecting Saturday's sprint, the penalty will affect Sunday's race. This comes after an unusually high number of gearbox problems for Verstappen, who has been vocal about his complaints over gear sync difficulties earlier in the season. Since teams are more at ease with facing grid penalties at Spa due to the track's advantageous overtaking chances, Red Bull's choice to switch gearbox there makes sense. Given that Red Bull is in a league of its own this year, Verstappen's five-place dip is not expected to prevent him from going for another victory.
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F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Verstappen's 2023 Season so Far
The overtaking possibilities at Spa should give Verstappen a chance to continue his win streak despite the grid penalty, as he has won seven races in a row, giving him a 110-point lead in the world championship. After starting down in 14th place owing to engine penalties in Belgium last year, the Dutchman worked his way up to a dominant victory. The 33-second margin of victory in Hungary was the largest of the 2023 season for Verstappen, who was racing against McLaren driver Lando Norris.
The Formula One season is just halfway through, but already numerous drivers are on the cusp of receiving gearbox penalties. Sergio Perez, Verstappen's teammate, is one of four drivers (with Alpine's Pierre Gasly and both Haas drivers) to have utilised all four gearboxes. Gasly and Hulkenberg are both down to their last remaining power unit component, and if they had to acquire new engines, they would like to have an additional gearbox.
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F1 Belgian Grand Prix: McLaren Brings More Upgrades in Spa
McLaren's updated MCL60 for Spa suggests the Woking-based team is trying to achieve a similar result. While it will still use a double-element beam wing, it will swap load with the rear wing main plane in an offloaded shape to decrease aerodynamic load and drag. The team has also implemented two distinct cuts to the leading edge of the rear wing flap element and a redesigned rear wing endplate in order to lessen the pressure on the main plane.
McLaren's sluggish start to the season looks to have been reversed after the team implemented the first two stages of a three-stage upgrade to improve "pretty much every single aerodynamic part on the car." Since the initial updates came in Austria, Lando Norris has qualified in the top four for all three GPs, and he has finished second to Max Verstappen in both Silverstone and the Hungaroring, which took place just this past weekend. But McLaren team manager Andrea Stella has cautioned that the team may not maintain its run of success at the Belgian venue for the sprint race weekend because of the circuit's mischaracterization as a high-speed track.
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