Max Verstappen remains at the top of the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship standings, with just four race weekends remaining.
However, a pair of ten-second penalties he incurred at last weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix opened the door for his rival in that fight to gain on him in that championship. With Verstappen finishing sixth and Lando Norris finishing second, the McLaren driver shaved ten points off Verstappen’s lead, and now trails the Red Bull driver by 47.
Verstappen could be facing another penalty this weekend in Brazil.
The Red Bull driver was limited in practice in Mexico City as the power unit on his RB20 suffered recurring issues, and speaking to Austrian outlet ORF after the race, Red Bull Senior Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko outlined that the team might be forced to install a new power unit on Verstappen’s RB20.
Having already exceeded his allotment of power units on the year, Verstappen would incur a five-place grid penalty in the São Paulo Grand Prix. Verstappen already went over the allotment this season and incurred a ten-place grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix. Under Article 28.3 of the F1 Sporting Regulations, the first time an additional element is used the driver incurs a ten-place penalty, and each subsequent time an additional element is used the penalty is five places on the grid.
“The engine we had in there was no longer intended for the race, and the older an engine gets, the more its performance diminishes,” Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF after the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“The penalty would be five places. That wouldn’t be so severe in Brazil, for example, where you can overtake relatively easily. But we saw that we were missing three to eight kilometres per hour on the straights.”
“We have to do something, that’s clear. We also will have a change the engine because we had been so slow on the straight,” added Marko. “This engine, which was in the car, was not supposed to be in the car, so most likely Brazil could happen.”
The São Paulo Grand Prix is the penultimate F1 Sprint Race of the season, but any grid penalty would be applied to Sunday’s main event.
Update: Red Bull confirmed on Friday during FP1 at the São Paulo Grand Prix that the team is installing the sixth Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) unit on Verstappen’s RB20 of the season, above the As a result, Verstappen will be assessed a five-place grid penalty in Sunday’s main event:
