After extending his lead over Lando Norris at the US GP, Max Verstappen lost out to his British rival in Mexico. However, arguably Verstappen’s biggest setback last weekend was an engine problem. With four rounds left, Red Bull are close to running out of components for the Dutchman.
Verstappen faces grid penalty at Brazilian GP
After Verstappen’s scare in Free Practice, Red Bull took the precaution of running a different power unit for the rest of the weekend.
The Austrian team used an old engine from their pool, resulting in a decrease in power.
Considering that overtaking has historically been tricky in Mexico, Red Bull considered that a grid penalty for a new engine would be too costly.
For the upcoming Brazilian GP, however, Helmut Marko explains that a grid penalty is on the cards.
With four rounds left in the season, Interlagos is arguably the most convenient circuit to make this change:
“The engine that we had to install for the Mexico GP was actually no longer intended for racing,” Marko told Speedweek.
“And the older an engine gets, the more its performance decreases.
“We saw in the Grand Prix that we were 3 to 8 km/h behind our opponents on the straights.
“That wouldn’t be so bad because it’s relatively easy to overtake. This relegation [grid penalty] is less serious than an old engine.”
Verstappen is expected to serve a 5-place grid penalty in Brazil. This would compromise his chances on race day, but it certainly would not ruin his chances.
In many ways, Verstappen will be thankful to see Ferrari’s resurgence. The Italian outfit are making it harder for Norris to secure the necessary wins to close the gap in the standings.
Red Bull also have the benefit of wet conditions being a possibility at Interlagos.
Should this weekend’s action be impacted by wet conditions, the Dutchman will fancy himself to compensate for a lower starting position.
