Max Verstappen’s championship prospect receives huge blow after penalty at Brazilian Grand Prix

In what appears to be a huge blow to Max Verstappen’s championship prospects this season, the Red Bull driver will receive a grid fall penalty for exceeding the permitted number of power units this season, senior team adviser Helmut Marko has confirmed. Verstappen will use his sixth power unit during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend at Interlagos, while regulations allow four power units per season.

Although the penalty applies to Sunday’s Grand Prix and not Saturday’s sprint race, the setback is significant for the three-time world champion, who received two ten-second penalties last weekend during the Mexico City Grand Prix. The penalties forced championship rival Lando Norris to close the points gap, with the McLaren driver now just 47 points behind Verstappen.

The Dutchman faced a difficult start to the weekend in Mexico after he reported a loss of engine power in free practice, followed by an unusual sound coming from the engine. Although Red Bull replaced the problematic power unit with an older one to avoid a fine, the temporary fix was not enough to last the rest of the 24-race season.

Marco confirmed that the old engine had reached the end of its life and was used in Verstappen’s RB20 in Mexico to avoid a penalty that contributed to the drop in speed on the long straights. Having no alternative, Red Bull decided to install a new power unit. According to the sporting regulations, if Verstappen replaces only the internal combustion engine (ICE), he will face a penalty of five places on the grid depending on his qualifying position.

If Red Bull decides to change additional powertrain components, Verstappen will have to start from the back of the Formula 1 grid. Speaking about the events that unfolded in Mexico and Red Bull’s latest testing ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, Marco wrote in his Speedweek column:

“The pace was also wrong because, due to an engine problem, we had to install another engine that had reached the end of its life and was actually no longer planned for racing.

“That was one of the reasons why we were one of the slowest cars on the straights. Once a Formula 1 engine reaches a certain number of kilometers, the loss of performance becomes clearly noticeable.

“We are now looking into whether we can use the engine with the leak again. But here, too, the number of kilometers means that it is no longer planned to be used.

“All this means that we cannot avoid replacing the engine in Brazil with the corresponding fine.”