Why does Max Verstappen have a grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen's championship lead faces a challenge as he receives a grid penalty in this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

Despite holding the lead in the 2024 F1 world championship, the Dutchman has been unable to convert his pace into victories in the past three races after facing stiff competition from McLaren and Mercedes.

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George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, and McLaren's young gun Oscar Piastri have all taken turns standing on the top step of the podium in Austria, Silverstone, and Hungary respectively.

Now as the championship heads to Spa-Francorchamps for the 14th round just before the summer break, the three-time world champion faces yet another challenge – this time a 10-place grid penalty.

Why is Verstappen taking a grid penalty at the 2024 Belgian GP?

Verstappen's penalty stems from exceeding the allocated number of engines for the season.

After losing a power unit in practice at the Canadian Grand Prix, Red Bull were forced to introduce his fourth Honda unit in Spain - the maximum allowed - and has been on the verge of a grid penalty since.

Now the team opted to take a new engine at Spa after failing to score a win in the last three rounds, prompting a penalty for the Dutchman for the third straight year.

However, Spa-Francorchamps, with its long straights and overtaking opportunities, is a popular choice for the energy drink giants to take such penalties.

Verstappen has a history of overcoming such setbacks at the 7.004km track, winning from 14th on the grid in 2022 and from sixth last season.

But with McLaren and Mercedes closing the performance gap on the Milton Keynes squad in recent rounds, a repeat performance might be a tougher ask this time around.

Verstappen is also running on his final allotment of other components like the turbocharger and control electronics, suggesting a possibility of another grid penalty in the next 10 rounds.

Power unit part allocations in 2024

According to F1's regulations, if a driver uses more power unit elements than allowed, they will receive a grid place penalty at the first race where the additional element is used.

When a driver exceeds the allocation of any of the power unit elements for the first time, they will receive a 10-place grid penalty, with the second time (and so on) resulting in a five-place grid drop.

All penalties incurred at the same event add up. If a driver's grid penalty exceeds 15 places, they will have to start the race from the back of the grid.

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