2024 has been a bit of downhill for three-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen
Three-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen had hoped 2024 would be as seamless as his 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, affairs have been going downhill for the Dutch superstar as he has been handed over a 10-place grid penalty for the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix.
Verstappen has to opt for a fifth engine for the Belgian Grand Prix, having already used four internal combustion engines (ICE), turbochargers, MGU-Hs, and MGU-K units. Given the maximum number of engines allowed in an F1 season is four, Max Verstappen has been handed over a 10-place grid penalty.
For the record, this is Verstappen’s third consecutive grid penalty at the Francorchamps, having won the race in 2023 from P6 and 2022 from P14. Not to forget, Verstappen has not been able to win the last three Grand Prix this season. With McLaren breathing down Verstappen and Red Bull, the ongoing 2024 F1 World Championship is no longer a walk in the park for the Dutch star, unlike 2023 and 2022.
Will Max Verstappen take a 10-place grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/4TSn5kTjA3
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 24, 2024
This incident with Verstappen also serves as an opportunity to recall the times when F1 handed over some of the staunchest grid penalties in motorsport’s history.
French Formula One driver Pierre Gasly, who represents the Alpine Formula One team currently, received a massive 50-place grid penalty earlier this season in July. Having used five engines, turbochargers, MGU-H, MGU-K, and three control electronics, he was handed over 10 grid penalties per element, taking the total number to 50. Gasly had to start from the 20th position in the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone F1 track but, unfortunately, failed to finish the race due to a gearbox malfunction.
In the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix, the McLaren duo of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso received grid penalties of 55 and 50, respectively. Throughout the weekend, the duo struggled with their engines, and because of this, they had to opt for a new one. Despite starting at the rear of the grid, Button finished in the 13th position, whereas Alonso crossed the finish line in the 14th position. 2015 also became a season that the two drivers would not like to remember, as on the overall standings, Button finished in the 16th position with 16 points, whereas Alonso could only salvage 11 points.
On this day, in 2015, McLaren were given a record 105-place grid penalty at the #BelgianGP for various changes to their doomed Honda power unit.
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) August 23, 2021
Times have thankfully changed for the better since then for McLaren and Honda! #F1 pic.twitter.com/6ESXV2YgEK
The 2009 Formula One World Champion, Jenson Button, also holds the unwanted record of receiving the biggest-ever grid penalty in the history of Formula One. As mentioned in the above paragraph, 2015 was not a fruitful year for McLaren, and Button had to bear the consequences during the Mexican Grand Prix. In free practice one, Button had to opt for a new engine, which earned him a 25-place grid penalty. In free practice, he had to change multiple components of the car, and because of this, the FIA handed him a 70-place grid penalty—the most ridiculous penalty ever recorded in F1 history.
Moving back to the ordeal of Max Verstappen and Red Bull, it will be interesting to see if the team can turn the tide in their favour, given that McLaren has turned the heat up.
