Lando Norris will take a 10-place grid penalty at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. McLaren confirmed on Thursday that Norris' MCL40 will use a new power electronics unit at Spa-Francorchamps - which will be the fourth such element the car has been fitted with this season, one more than is permitted without penalty under F1's regulations. A fourth unit automatically triggers a 10-place grid drop for the reigning world champion from wherever he qualifies. He will therefore start no higher than 11th.

McLaren said they are fitting the fresh unit to take advantage of battery reliability improvements from engine suppliers Mercedes after failures with initial units earlier in the season, with Spa-Francorchamps chosen as the circuit to take the penalty due to its relatively overtaking-friendly nature. A McLaren statement detailed the issues: the first unit failed in China, the second had issues in Japan and Monaco. While the third unit has worked reliably since Miami, Mercedes has introduced reliability fixes. To take advantage, they must incur the penalty.

Norris, who counts Spa as a partial home race as his mother is Belgian, has endured a challenging world title defence so far in the 2026 season with McLaren unable to challenge front-runners Mercedes and Ferrari consistently. He is fifth in the Drivers' Championship after nine rounds, 82 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli. Meanwhile, Norris and Oscar Piastri are set to take fresh Mercedes internal combustion units without penalty this weekend.