F1 champion Lando Norris hit with 10-place grid penalty for Belgian GP

Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Jul 16 (AP) Lando Norris' faltering Formula 1 title defense hit another setback Thursday as McLaren confirmed he will get a 10-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix. Norris is paying the price for poor reliability earlier in the season of the electronics which manage his car's hybrid power systems. Fitting an upgraded power electronics unit supplied by Mercedes with what McLaren called “a series of reliability fixes” took Norris over his allowance of three for the season and triggered the penalty. Norris lost two of the units to failures, including a breakdown which left him unable to start the Chinese Grand Prix. McLaren said it picked Belgium to use the new unit because it's relatively easy to overtake at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, meaning Norris has a better chance of making up at least some of the places he'll lose. Norris is fifth in the standings, 82 points off leader Kimi Antonelli. (AP) APA APA