Norris after engine shock: “Such a shame, it’s not the same fun anymore”

In 2025, Lando Norris won the Belgian Grand Prix. The Englishman can probably forget about repeating that victory – a fourth Mercedes engine control unit is being fitted to his car, which is one more than is permitted over the course of a season, resulting in a ten-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Norris was most recently on sixth on the grid in Austria and England; if we use that as a benchmark, this will mean P16 on the starting grid.

Norris knows that this will be a millstone around his neck for his home race (his mum, Cisca, is from Flanders). He’s understandably thrilled by this latest development.

Norris in the paddock at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps: although he comes across as relaxed and smiles a lot, the truth is he’s annoyed – annoyed by McLaren’s lack of competitiveness, annoyed that this circuit is losing its wonderful character with this generation of cars, annoyed by the penalty, annoyed that the Belgian Grand Prix will in future be held on a rotation basis with Barcelona, meaning it will only take place every two years.

The eleven-time Grand Prix winner says: “It’s a real shame; it’s no longer the same Spa we love. With these engines, it simply won’t be the same challenge as it used to be.”

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“When I ask my fellow drivers, I know what their answer will be – Spa features among everyone’s top three to five favourite circuits. It’s a real shame that we won’t be racing here every year in future. But it’s also deeply regrettable that we’re driving race cars that rely so heavily on batteries. But that’s just the way it is.”

On his penalty, Norris says: “Basically, we knew that it’s even harder to make up places at the Hungaroring or Zandvoort, so we decided to bite the bullet here at Spa.”

“I don’t yet know myself how difficult it will be to get back up the field. Some of my rivals shouldn’t be a problem, because the McLaren has good top speed and the slipstream here is considerable. But then there’s the question of energy management, and I still don’t have many answers there.”