Carlos Sainz handed 10-place grid penalty for Belgian Grand Prix

Sainz penalised after fourth control electronics unit

Carlos Sainz will take a 10-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix after Williams fitted his car with a fourth control electronics unit.

The penalty is a significant setback for Sainz, who had qualified 14th, but it will not leave him starting from the back of the field. Three other drivers — Lance Stroll, Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso — have also received grid penalties following power unit component changes. Their sanctions alter the order behind Sainz and reduce the practical impact of his own drop.

Norris also carries a grid penalty

Lando Norris is another driver penalised for a power unit component change. The McLaren driver qualified third, but his 10-place penalty means he will start 13th.

That gives Norris a more substantial recovery challenge than his qualifying result initially suggested. From the third row in qualifying to the lower midfield on the race grid, the McLaren driver must now make up ground from a position created by the component change rather than on-track performance.

For Sainz, the fall from 14th to 19th places him in a similar recovery scenario, although the penalties applied to Stroll, Hadjar and Alonso mean he avoids the very back of the grid. At Spa-Francorchamps, the revised order will therefore be crucial from the opening phase of the race, with several drivers starting well away from the positions they earned in qualifying.

The Belgian Grand Prix will consequently feature multiple penalty-affected starting positions, with Sainz’s fourth control electronics unit the latest change to reshape the grid.