SPORTING: How many gearbox units have drivers used so far in 2024?

Max Verstappen has already been hit with a grid-drop penalty for exceeding his power unit allocation for the 2024 F1 season. F1Technical's lead journalist Balazs Szabo analyses the situation as far as the gearbox usage is concerned.

Drivers are also limited in terms of how many restricted-number components (RNCs) they can use during a season. RNCs are components that make up the gearbox, split between the gearbox case and cassette, and the gearbox driveline, gear change components and auxiliary components.

As with their power units, drivers have a ‘pool’ of five gearboxes that can be swapped around during the season. Only when a driver exceeds their allocation of either of the above gearbox components do they receive a grid penalty.

Although no driver has exceeded his gearbox allocation yet, there are some racers who are on the verge of doing that.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have only used three gearbox cases so far, meaning that they still have two new units for the remainder of the season. However, they have already added four gearbox drivelines into their pool. While teams usually change the two components that make up the gearbox together, the Red Bull drivers are the only ones who are on a different cycle what the two elements are concerned.

Ferrari installed a brand-new gearbox into Charles Leclerc’s SF-24 at Spa which left the Monegasque with only a single new unit to see out the second half of the season.

Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, Logan Sargeantand Zhou Guanyu find themselves in a similar situation to Leclerc with all of them having used four gearboxes so far this season.