Lance Stroll will have to deal with a heavy penalty this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. The Aston Martin driver will drop ten places on the grid after another engine component change.
The Belgian Grand Prix weekend starts with bad news for Aston Martin. The FIA has confirmed that Lance Stroll will receive a 10-place grid penalty after exceeding the allowed quota of engine components.
The Canadian will use a fourth MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic) this weekend in the 2026 season, while the regulations only allow three without penalty.
In an official document published on Friday, the FIA technical delegate, Jo Bauer, confirmed the regulation breach.
“The MGU-K used by Lance Stroll is the fourth (4th) of the three (3) new MGU-Ks allowed for the 2026 Formula 1 Championship season, which is not compliant with article B8.2.2 f) of the 2026 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.”
An automatic penalty provided by the regulations
Exceeding the MGU-K quota automatically results in a 10-place grid penalty. Each additional unit used thereafter will cost five more places.
This penalty further complicates Aston Martin’s weekend, which already expects to struggle on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The British team considers the Belgian track one of the most demanding of the season in terms of energy management, an area where its Honda power unit still lags behind the competition.
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Stroll is not the only one penalized
Lance Stroll joins an already long list of drivers penalized before the Belgian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris will also drop 10 places after the installation of a fourth control electronics system. McLaren chose to accept this penalty to benefit from a more reliable version of the system developed by Mercedes for the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar will start from the back of the grid. The Red Bull driver exceeded the allowed number of internal combustion engines, turbochargers, and exhaust systems.
On Thursday, the Franco-Algerian fully assumed this strategy.
“The goal will be to focus on race pace. We know it will be less about qualifying performance. We will probably start in 22nd position.”
He remains optimistic for Sunday.
“It’s a circuit where overtaking is possible. Many things can happen. We have good pace, so I really hope to enjoy the race.”
With several major drivers penalized even before qualifying, the starting grid for the Belgian Grand Prix could be particularly reshuffled, promising an exciting race on the spectacular Spa-Francorchamps track.
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