Alonso laughs at McLaren's 105-place grid drop

Fernando Alonso says McLaren should receive a cake for accumulating a total grid penalty of 105 places between its two cars.

The two McLaren drivers will start from the back of the grid for today's Belgian Grand Prix having taken a number of new power unit components this weekend. The excessive penalty is a result of Honda updating its power unit and then replacing components to ensure it has a bigger pool to use for the rest of the season.

When asked about the size of the penalty on a grid of 20 cars, Alonso joked McLaren should celebrate its achievement.

"We should have a cake or something!" Alonso said. "It's a world record, no?!"

Team-mate Jenson Button says the number carries no significance and ultimately delivers a fair penalty.

"It's 105 but it's just a number because we start at the back of the grid," Button said. "So it doesn't mean anything. I think the regulation is fair that if you have the penalties you start at the back, because starting at the back for us is a bigger penalty than it is for the cars at the front if they start at the back. So it's fair for everyone, I think, the way the regulation is now."