Third gearbox pushes Verstappen closer to grid penalty

©RedBull

For all his blistering pace displayed in Miami, Max Verstappen is fast approaching F1's grid penalty zone, with Red Bull unexpectedly adding a third gearbox to the Dutchman's 2023 pool of hardware ahead of Saturday's qualifying.

A fourth gearbox would put the current leader of the F1 world championship on the limit of the authorized allocation, which a fifth element earning Verstappen a grid drop.

The component appears to be an Achilles Heel on Red Bull's RB19, given that the team is only four races into its season and has already pulled three transmissions out of its store of parts.

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Verstappen took his second gearbox in Jeddah, but now, with 19 rounds to go, its almost a certainty that a fifth element will need to be introduced at some stage, unless Red Bull can salvage working parts from its other gearbox casings, the state of which is unknown.

So far, Red Bull has offered to date no explanation for the successive hardware changes.

Over at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz was also given a new gearbox for the weekend – his second this season.

Furthermore, new penalty-free Control Electronics (CE) and Energy Stores (ES) were added to the hardware inventories of McLaren's Lando Norris, Williams' Alex Albon and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.