Max Verstappen looks set for an engine penalty for this weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix, although the Red Bull driver has yet to receive confirmation from his team on the matter.
In his regular column for Speedweek , Red Bull motorsport chief Helmut Marko alluded to a grid drop for Verstappen at Interlagos on the basis of the Dutchman's current power unit allocation.
Last weekend in Mexico City, the Dutchman suffered an engine issue – a leak in the intake tract – that significantly restricted his running on Friday. It also forced Red Bull to undertake an engine replacement and bolt in an older unit for the remainder of the race weekend.
“That was one of the reasons why we were one of the slowest cars on the straights,” Marko commented. “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,” concluded the Austrian.
Despite Marko's comments, Verstappen himself indicated he has yet to receive official word from the team on the engine penalty.
“I haven't heard anything yet,” he said in Sao Paulo on Thursday. “It's not discussed, but I know that I will have to take one at some point. So we'll see.”
A best-case scenario – involving a fresh internal combustion engine – would see the championship leader demoted five spots on Sunday's grid, regardless of where he qualifies.
But replacing additional elements would send Verstappen to the back of the grid at Interlagos.
This potential setback arrives at a tricky moment for Red Bull, as Ferrari and McLaren have recently outpaced them in key races.
Last weekend in Mexico, Verstappen qualified on the front row and initially led the race, but he soon found himself struggling to fend off rivals, ultimately finishing sixth after two penalties following incidents with title contender Lando Norris.
Asked about the team's recent struggles, Verstappen acknowledged that the challenges in maintaining pace have been a recurring issue.
“This has been a little bit the case for most of the season lately,” he said. “It's a bit difficult to explain why that is.
“I think it's just entirely up to us, but we'll see, we'll try to be as competitive as we can be and every track is a bit different. Also here, there's new Tarmac, so again there's a few question marks.
“In general we probably lack a little bit of peace, but for sure it could have been a lot better. But unfortunately we didn't get to really understand that in the long runs.
“It's always very painful, especially when it's a very tight battle with some teams and you're a bit on the back foot, you need to really maximize everything that you can and we couldn't do that in Mexico.”
The possibility of a grid penalty at Interlagos adds pressure to Verstappen's campaign, although his championship lead over Norris – 47 points – remains relatively comfortable with four races to go.
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