Max Verstappen will be demoted five places on the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix after taking a new gearbox for the weekend.
F1 drivers are permitted to run four gearboxes during the year penalty-free, and Verstappen has taken on his fifth at Spa-Francorchamps.
The decision follows on from Verstappen’s gearbox failure at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier this year.
Verstappen will have his work cut out if he is hoping to claim an eighth consecutive race win this weekend.
The Dutchman will start no higher than sixth place on Sunday, but the RB19 has displayed rapid pace in the opening half of the year, winning every race on offer so far.
In addition, at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen started from 14th for exceeding his power unit quota for the year and still secured the race win.
Verstappen currently sits 110 points ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in the Drivers’ Championship.
Speaking ahead of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen said that Red Bull’s pace at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix leaves him content with the car’s potential with upgrades.
“I think we have a quick car,” he said. “Of course there are a lot of other teams I think that have brought a lot more than us this year – because we couldn’t – but we are very happy with how the car is performing.
“I think our Saturday was maybe not ideal but on the Sunday you could see the upgrades we brought, I think was a good race to see it work.”
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