Max Verstappen received a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix following Red Bull’s decision to fit a new gearbox to the Dutchman’s RB19.
As the fifth such item in Verstappen’s hardware group, the two-time world champion exceeded the limit of four gearboxes allowed by the rules throughout the season, thus falling down the grid.
If the Dutchman, who is unbeaten in the last seven races, takes pole position in Friday’s qualifying, he will be sixth on the grid on Sunday. No penalties will be applied for the sprint event on Saturday afternoon.
However, the decision to change the gearbox comes after Verstappen suffered gear timing problems at the start of the season, although it is unclear if this is related to the reason for the gearbox overuse.
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Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez has also used four gearboxes so far this season, leaving the Mexican vulnerable to grid penalties as well.
Despite the penalty, Red Bull’s strategic choice is understandable, with Spa offering excellent overtaking opportunities, making teams more willing to leave the grid in place. Furthermore, given Red Bull’s impressive performance this season, a drop of just five places is unlikely to present a significant challenge for Verstappen as he aims for another win.
“I think we have a faster car,” Verstappen said on Thursday. “Of course, I think there are many other teams that have contributed much more than us this year, because we couldn’t, but we are very happy with the performance of the car.
“I think our Saturday (in Hungary) was probably not ideal, but on Sunday you could see the improvements we brought, I think it was a good race to work on.”