Christian Horner has admitted that it is inevitable that Max Verstappen will face a grid penalty at some point this season after he moved on to his fourth internal combustion engine at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Under the current regulations, drivers are allowed an allocation of four internal combustion engines across a season. Every unit used beyond that figure results in a 10-place grid penalty for the driver in question.
Verstappen now finds himself on the brink of a penalty, having used all four of his engines before the halfway mark of the campaign. For the three-time world champion, the nightmare moment came in Montreal when his power unit failed during free practice. This engine was later determined to be unrecoverable, taking it out of his pool for the season.
Explaining Verstappen’s predicament, Horner revealed: “I’m sure at some point we’ll end up taking an extra engine for Max, it’s just a question of when you strategically choose to do that. So we’re working with Honda on that. Inevitably we will take a penalty at some point in the year.”
While Horner stopped short of confirming where Red Bull would take their grid drop, many have speculated that they may choose to do so at the Belgian Grand Prix, just before the summer break.
Red Bull have historically demonstrated immense pace around the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and with its long straights and plentiful overtaking opportunities, it would be the perfect venue at which Verstappen could minimise the damage caused by an engine penalty.
Last year, Verstappen won the race at Spa by over 22 seconds and in 2022, eight drivers – the Dutchman included – took grid penalties. Despite lining up in 14th place, the 26-year-old was in the lead by the end of lap 12 and eventually stormed to victory by a margin of 17.8 seconds ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez.
However, a grid penalty at Spa in 2024 will be less forgiving. Unlike in the past two seasons, Verstappen has legitimate competition and both Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton will be in the hunt for the race win.
This could also have major ramifications for Red Bull the Constructors’ Championship. With Sergio Perez struggling to hold a flame to his team-mate’s form, the pressure will be on Verstappen to complete a remarkable comeback drive to limit the gains made by McLaren.
