Lando Norris remains optimistic about his competitiveness at the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix, despite facing a 10-position grid penalty. The reigning world champion will have a challenging race at Spa, especially since his McLaren team has installed a new battery in his car, exceeding the permitted limit by one unit.
Currently ranked fifth in the championship standings, Norris trails the leader, Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes, by 82 points. Both he and McLaren have experienced multiple failures this season related to their Mercedes power unit, including significant issues with the power electronics unit, which is part of the battery system. Failures occurred in China, a unit was withdrawn in Japan, and another malfunctioned in Monaco after being repaired.
Following reliability updates from Mercedes, McLaren has decided to introduce the latest engine specifications along with the new battery at Spa, where they hope the track’s overtaking opportunities will help lessen the impact of the grid penalty.
“I hope this isn’t the end of my weekend before it even starts, but I still believe we can have a strong race,” Norris stated. “It really depends on how the overtaking situation plays out. We might have a slight advantage in straight-line speed compared to those behind us, so we should have a good chance against them.”
Norris acknowledged the challenges of overtaking at Spa, noting the significant effect of slipstreaming on the straights, which could provide opportunities despite the lack of a straight-line mode for increased speed.
This season has posed significant challenges for Norris as he defends his title. McLaren, which secured both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships last season, has struggled to keep pace with the dominant Mercedes. Recent upgrades from Ferrari and Red Bull have also pushed them ahead of McLaren, with Norris having not started one race and retiring in two out of nine so far, reflecting a streak of misfortune.
The team expressed hope that the enhanced reliability of the battery electronics will sustain their performance through to the season’s end without the need for replacements that could incur additional penalties. “Mercedes has implemented several reliability enhancements to their new power electronics systems,” the team explained in a statement. “To leverage these advancements, we must accept a 10-place grid penalty for Lando’s car to install a new unit. We opted for this approach in Belgium, a track known for its overtaking opportunities, rather than the subsequent races in Hungary and Zandvoort. Our goal is to utilize this fourth power electronics unit for the remainder of the season to optimize reliability and minimize penalties for Lando.”
