Verstappen gets 10-place grid penalty at Belgian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen has been given a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

The penalty comes for exceeding the allotted number of engines, further hurting his chances to end his mini-streak of winless races, which currently sits at three.

“I knew of course that it is coming. It’s not a surprise to me,” Verstappen said before the penalty was made official. “If you look at our last few races where we haven’t particularly been the fastest, I wouldn’t say that with 10 places extra we have a chance of winning.”

Verstappen has just three wins in the last eight grand prix and has now gone three consecutive races without a victory for the first time since 2021. He continues to lead in the Drivers' Standings with 265 points this season to Lando Norris' 189.

His frustration was evident last weekend in Hungary when he finished fifth despite having started from third. Verstappen bickered with his team over the radio regarding their pit-stop strategies after his car was unable to match the pace of the McLarens, which locked out the front row both in qualifying and the race.

“From my side I think it was quite clear that the strategy was wrong and of course I’m very driven like everyone else in the team. We want to try and be perfect,” Verstappen said Thursday, reflecting on the tough race in Budapest, which included contact with Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes that sent his Red Bull airborne.

“Now I know that every single race to do that is very, very hard. I think we came very close last year, but when things are not going how they should have been, I think it’s quite normal that you can share your frustration."

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