Vandoorne’s penalty count up to 65

Having arrived at Spa knowing that he was facing a 35-place penalty, Stoffel Vandoorne wasn’t at all fazed when it climbed to 60 on Saturday morning.

The Belgian racer was handed a new Honda engine for his home grand prix, however, with the engine came the penalties.

An eighth turbo and MGU-H, a sixth energy store and control electronics and a fifth MGU-K meant he had a 35-place grid penalty even before putting in a single lap.

However, having to take a new gearbox in the wake of Friday’s practices, his tally climbed to 40.

That, though, become 65 as Honda opted to fit his MCL32 with an entirely new power unit after discovering a problem in the Friday unit overnight.

“The penalty doesn’t affect my motivation at all,” he said.

“It’s a shame that it’s happened in Spa, but it’s the way it is.

“The penalties were inevitable considering the issues we’ve had at the beginning of the season, so it was always going to be like this.

“We need to think about the future, and hopefully it will help us at other grands prix.

“I feel confident about the rest of the season.

“As usual, there are circuits that will suit us better and circuits that will not suit us as much – but when the chance is there to grab some points, we need to take advantage of that.”