Helmut Marko has confirmed that Max Verstappen will have to take a new power unit for Brazil, triggering an automatic grid penalty.

Rumors of a grid penalty for Interlagos have come true, with Max Verstappen set to suffer a significant drop on the grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Helmut Marko confirms Max Verstappen’s grid penalty

Verstappen’s hopes of a return to the front at this weekend’s race in Brazil were dashed, as the Red Bull the driver will be forced to serve a penalty on the grid.

Following engine problems at last weekend’s Mexico GP, Red Bull will have to fit a new Honda powerplant to Verstappen’s RB20 – that engine is outside the annual allowance, causing him to serve a penalty automatically triggered.

Speaking in his column for Speed ​​WeekMarko revealed that last Friday’s engine problems had a cumulative effect on the performance of Verstappen’s car throughout the weekend.

“Verstappen’s weekend in Mexico got off to a bad start on Friday with a leak in the engine intake tract,” Marko said.

“As a result, Max was unable to drive in 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 on the hard tyres.

“We had the fifth fastest car behind the two Ferraris and the McLaren. With the Pirelli medium we were still halfway there, but with both compounds the tire wear was worse than our competitors.

“The pace was also not good because, due to the engine problem mentioned above, it was necessary to install a different power unit which had reached the end of its cycle and which was not intended for the race at all .

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 power is clearly noticeable.

We are currently investigating whether we could reuse the leaking engine. But here too the mileage means that it is no longer intended for use.

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

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