Helmut Marko has confirmed Max Verstappen will need to take a new power unit for Brazil, triggering an automatic grid penalty. Rumours about a grid penalty for Interlagos have turned into reality, with Max Verstappen set to take a significant grid drop for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Helmut Marko confirms Max Verstappen’s grid penaltyVerstappen’s hopes of a return to the front at this weekend’s race in Brazil have taken a dash, as the Red Bull driver will be forced to serve a grid penalty.
Following on from engine issues during last weekend’s Mexico City GP, Red Bull will have to fit a fresh Honda power unit to Verstappen’s RB20 – this engine is outside of the annual allowance, resulting in him serving an automatically triggered grid penalty. Speaking in his column for Speedweek, Marko revealed the engine issues from last Friday had a cumulative effect on the performance of Verstappen’s car through the weekend. “Verstappen’s Mexico weekend got off to a bad start on Friday with a leak in the engine’s intake tract,” Marko said.
“As a result, Max was unable to drive in both the first and second practice sessions. “The lack of driving time is part of the reason why we were not competitive in the race, especially with the hard tyres. “We had the fifth-fastest car behind the two Ferraris and the McLaren.
On the medium Pirelli we were still halfway there, but with both compounds, the tyre wear was worse than that of our competitors. “The pace was also not good because, due to the aforementioned engine problem, a different power unit had to be fitted that had reached the end of its cycle and was not actually planned for racing at all. “That was one of the reasons why we were one of the slowest cars on the straights.
When a Formula 1 engine has reached a certain number of kilometers, the loss of power is clearly noticeable. “We are currently investigating whether we could use the engine with the leak again. But here, too, the mileage means that it is no longer intended to be used.
“All this means that we cannot avoid changing the engine in Brazil, with a corresponding penalty. ”More on Max Verstappen👉 Max Verstappen car collection: What supercars does the F1 World Champion own? 👉 Max Verstappen net worth: How the World Champion has built his incredible fortuneThe exact extent of Verstappen’s penalty isn’t yet confirmed, as it comes down to how many components are needed.
As Verstappen has already served a 10-place grid drop due to the introduction of a fresh power unit at the Belgian GP, another internal combustion engine will trigger a five-place grid penalty. Verstappen has already reached the limit of four allocated turbochargers, MGU-H, and MGU-Ks, as well as two energy stores and control electronics. Should he use a new component from any of these, he will trigger a further 10-place penalty.
The grid penalty will apply to Sunday’s Grand Prix, meaning it’s Saturday’s qualifying session which will be of utmost importance for Verstappen – the penalty doesn’t apply to the Sprint format running on Friday and Saturday. The Dutch driver carries a 47-point lead over title rival Lando Norris into the Brazilian round, the final round of the current triple-header before a final triple-header in Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Read Next: Johnny Herbert calls out Max Verstappen’s ‘horrible mindset’ in ‘absolute no-no’ verdict
