New gearboxes have been fitted within Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel's cars at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with neither driver receiving a penalty. Red Bull's Verstappen and Aston Martin's Vettel are both running a new gearbox case and cassette (GBX C & C), along with a new gearbox driveline, gear change components and auxiliary components (GBX DL). It means Verstappen is now onto his fourth and final permitted elements for the season, with Vettel taking on his third. Any further gearbox-related changes for Verstappen would result in a grid penalty. Other drivers currently on limit are Haas' Mick Schumacher and Alfa Romeo pair Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
How F1's gearbox rules work
Ahead of the 2022 season, the rules regarding gearbox changes were tweaked , and differ from what most fans are used to. The amended rules enforce a four casing and cassette limit per car. This means a driver is only permitted four 'gearboxes' for the season, and can pick and choose from that pool of four to get through the season. Once a driver requires a gearbox in excess of that four-component rule, they will receive a five-place grid penalty, with the same drop being imposed for every subsequent gearbox introduction. The limit has also been imposed on the components within the gearbox cassette itself, allowing drivers to change them four times over the course of the season. Once a driver requires a fifth change of their gearbox components, they will receive a five-place grid penalty, and so on.
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