Verstappen gets 10-place grid penalty in Belgium

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Max Verstappen faces a 10-place grid penalty from wherever he qualifies at the Belgian Grand Prix after he exceeded his quota for engines this season.

A grid penalty was always likely for the Red Bull driver after he suffered a failure on a new engine during Friday practice at the Canadian Grand Prix.

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“I knew of course that it is coming,” Verstappen said on Thursday when asked about the likelihood of a penalty.

The amount of power unit components used by each driver per season is limited, with the quota for internal combustion engines set at four before incurring a penalty for using a fifth.

Red Bull’s decision to fit a fifth engine at Spa-Francorchamps is in part a tactical one as the circuit is one of the easier tracks to overtake on during the season, giving Verstappen the best chance of coming back through the field.

“Some tracks naturally are a bit better than others,” Verstappen said. “Of course on a street circuit, you wouldn’t want to have an engine penalty.

“If you look at our last few races where we haven’t particularly been the fastest, I wouldn’t say that with 10 places extra we have a chance of winning. But again, a race can always be turned upside down with moments.

“We have to be open minded and try to make the best of it. That’s what we’ll try to do.

“At the moment, I also don’t know how competitive we’re going to be here.

“Obviously with the weather, quite a bit of rain expected on Friday and Saturday. So yeah, just need to follow the weather and just progression through the weekend, and see how competitive we are.”

Verstappen leads the championship by 76 points from Lando Norris but has not won a grand prix for three races in a row.

It is the longest number of races Verstappen has gone without a victory since the end of the 2021 season.