Verstappen to be hit with grid drop at Belgian GP 

The reigning world champion is to move onto his fifth gearbox of the 2023 season in Belgium this weekend, triggering a five-place grid penalty, according to respected Dutch journalist Erik van Haren. 

A report by De Telegraaf revealed that Verstappen will exceed his allowance at Spa, with drivers permitted to use four gearbox units over the course of the season before incurring penalties. 

Verstappen will take his fifth gearbox due to failures experienced at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah earlier this season. 

The penalty means that Verstappen will start no higher than sixth place for Sunday’s grand prix, providing he takes pole position in Friday’s qualifying. 

The two-time world champion will therefore have his work cut out if he is to claim an eighth successive victory. 

However, at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen started 14th after exceeding his quota of power unit elements but was leading by lap 12 and went on to win the race.

Verstappen has a 110-point lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in the F1 world championship standings.