Verstappen penalised for another gearbox change, he will definitely not start from pole position for the Belgian GP

Max Verstappen drops five places back at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutch driver received the penalty as a result of a gearbox change.

The reigning world champion and current leader of the drivers’ championship will not start the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position this year either.

In fact, Verstappen received a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Drivers are only allowed to change gearboxes four times in a season under the regulations, with the fifth being a violation and therefore the aforementioned automatic penalty.

In any case, the Dutch driver in the service of Red Bull is not the first driver to receive a penalty this year for using an excessive number of spare parts.

Charles Leclerc received the penalty of a ten-place grid drop back in Saudi Arabia for using a third battery. It should be added, only halfway through the season, the Monegasque already has a fourth in his guts.

Ferrari made another change to his car in Spain, also facing a drop of 15 places due to another power unit part exceeding its limit (the energy store located in the fuel cell allows energy to be stored, which the driver can later use to increase the car’s performance).

Sergio Pérez also received a penalty for a third replacement of the same components, but he started from pit lane in the Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen will therefore start Sunday’s race from no better than sixth place. However, last year, for example, he only started the Belgian Grand Prix from 14th, then again he exceeded the power unit limit.

That time, however, he still managed to win the race after starting from such a disadvantageous position, taking the lead of the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix after just twelve laps. Second-placed Pérez lost 17 seconds to him in the final showdown.

Source: F1, Autosport