Max Verstappen is set to start the Brazilian Grand Prix with a five-place grid penalty after Red Bull decided to give him a new engine for the race. The Dutchman is clinging to his position at the top of the Drivers’ Championship leaderboard after failing to win a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
Verstappen saw his advantage over Lando Norris cut to 47 points on Sunday after the McLaren star finished four places above him at the Mexican Grand Prix.
The reigning champion was only able to muster a sixth-place finish to add eight points to his season tally, with Norris bagging 18 points by finishing second.
According to De Telegraaf, Verstappen’s car will be fitted with a new combustion engine in Brazil, with other engine parts remaining the same as Red Bull believe those bits can still keep up.
The grid sanction will be applied for the main race on Sunday and will not affect Saturday’s Sprint race. Red Bull have been factoring in the penalty for some time after a new engine broke down in Canada in early June.
Verstappen was handed a 10-place grid penalty after changing his engine for the Belgian Grand Prix in the summer as it was the first time he had exceeded the maximum. On this occasion, his sanction isn’t as severe however.
Verstappen will be desperate to protect his lead over Norris as he attempts to win his fourth consecutive F1 world title with Red Bull.
The Milton Keynes-based team dominated their rivals during the 2022 and 2023 seasons as Verstappen cruised to those championship victories with ease after clinching his first one in 2021 at the final race of the year following a battle with Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull were also imperious during the early stages of this season as Verstappen won seven of the opening 10 races to build what appeared to be an unassailable lead at the top of the standings. But the F1 giants have fallen down the pecking order at races in recent months, with the McLaren and Ferrari cars now the strongest ones on the track.
Last weekend, Verstappen was handed two 10-second penalties in Mexico, with the FIA deciding to change three of the stewards who oversaw those decisions ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
And one of the stewards who punished him, Johnny Herbert, insisted this week: “We followed the guidelines and the teams agreed with our decision.
“I’m a big fan of Verstappen and it frustrates me enormously when he drives like he did in Mexico. He doesn’t have to do it and he’s so incredibly good. At this point in the championship he just has to stay out of trouble and drive as well as he can.”
