Belgian GP: McLaren F1's Alonso and Button get first penalties
McLaren-Honda Formula 1 drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso have been handed their first grid penalties of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend

Alonso receives a 30-place grid drop and Button 25 places, which means the McLaren pairing will now start at the back of the Spa-Francorchamps grid for Sunday's race.
The punishment from the FIA stewards was expected as Honda confirmed on Thursday the MP4-30s of Alonso and Button would be taking on a seventh and eighth internal combustion engine (ICE) respectively, along with other ancillary parts.
This follows Honda's upgrade of the power unit over the summer break, with the Japanese manufacturer using three of its allotted tokens for development.
Alonso's 30-position penalty comprises 10 places for the use of a seventh ICE, five places apiece for a seventh turbocharger and seventh MGU-H, along with five places apiece for a sixth MGU-K and control electronics.
Button gets 10 places for an eighth turbocharger, five for an eighth MGU-H, as well as five positions for a seventh ICE, and five for a seventh MGU-K.
However, following a rule change last month the most a driver can now be penalised is to be demoted to the back of the grid as the FIA opted to dispense with in-race penalties for such infractions.
Following second practice it is anticipated McLaren and Honda will take on an additional ICE, and other parts, thus incurring further - albeit meaningless - penalties.
This is to allow Honda the opportunity to analyse the latest updated power unit in the wake of its introduction, and to provide the team with systems at its disposal going forward, hopefully without any further penalties.
In light of the changes regarding penalties, it is a clever circumvention of the regulations, which may yet force the FIA's hand to close the loophole.

Belgian GP: Mercedes' Nico Rosberg tops practice before tyre blows
Belgian GP: No warning of F1 practice tyre blowout - Nico Rosberg

Latest news
What Autosport is looking forward to in 2023
There’s a lot happening this season, so here are the highlights Autosport staffers and contributors are getting excited about…
Busch calls out "disrespect from everybody" in "disaster" NASCAR Clash
Kyle Busch has called out "disrespect from everybody" in Sunday's "disaster" NASCAR Cup Series pre-season Clash at Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum.
Why the time was right for Ford's F1 return with Red Bull
Some 22 years after pulling the plug out of Jaguar and handing the keys to a certain Dietrich Mateschitz, the paths of Ford and Red Bull have crossed again. And their 2026 Formula 1 alliance makes sense for both parties.
Vandoorne joins Peugeot WEC team as reserve driver
Reigning Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will serve as Peugeot’s official reserve driver in its first full season in the World Endurance Championship in 2023.
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.