In what appears to be a blow to Max Verstappenchampionship hopes this season, the Red Bull driver will suffer a grid loss penalty for exceeding the number of power units allowed this season, as confirmed by the team’s senior advisor, Helmut Marko. Verstappen will be using his sixth power unit at the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend at Interlagos, while the regulations allow four power units per season.

Even though this penalty applies to the Sunday Grand Prix and not the Saturday sprint race, the setback is significant for the three-time world champion, who received two ten-second penalties last weekend during the Grand Prix from Mexico. The penalties caused championship rival Lando Norris to close the points gap, with the McLaren driver now trailing Verstappen by just 47 points.

The Dutchman had a difficult start to the weekend in Mexico after reporting a loss of engine power during free practice, followed by an unusual noise emanating from the engine. While Red Bull replaced the problematic powerplant with an older one to avoid the penalty, this temporary solution proved insufficient to maintain it for the remainder of the 24-race season.

Marko confirmed the old engine had reached the end of its lifespan and was used on Verstappen’s RB20 in Mexico to avoid incurring a penalty, which contributed to a drop in pace on the long straights . Faced with the lack of an alternative, Red Bull chose to install a new power unit. According to the sporting regulations, if Verstappen replaces only the internal combustion engine (ICE), he will face a five-place grid penalty depending on his qualifying position.

If Red Bull chooses to replace additional powertrain components, Verstappen will have to start from the back of the F1 grid. Speaking about the events that unfolded in Mexico and Red Bull’s latest challenges before the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend even begins, Marko wrote in his Speedweek Chronicle:

“The pace was also not correct as the engine problem meant that a different engine had to be fitted, which had reached the end of its life and was in fact no longer intended for racing.

“This is one of the reasons why we were one of the slowest cars on the straights. When a Formula 1 engine reaches a certain number of kilometers, the loss of performance is clearly noticeable.

“We are currently investigating whether we could reuse the engine with the leak. But here too the number of kilometers means that it is no longer planned to be used.

“All this means that we cannot avoid changing engines in Brazil, with the corresponding penalty.”