Verstappen confirms bad news about his engine: 'Might need that'

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Max Verstappen likely to get Power Unit change and grid penalty
27 October at 08:18

Verstappen is yet to win a Grand Prix since the Spanish GP, but the Dutchman still has a quite comfortable lead in the drivers' championship. Verstappen is 57 points ahead of Lando Norris, and that just could be enough to earn him a fourth Formula One title, but there is one worrying thing for him remaining this season.

While McLaren's MCL38 still have the upper hand on Verstappen's RB20, Norris failed to close the gap to his rival at the US Grand Prix last weekend, after he finished behind the Dutchman both during the Sprint and the race on Sunday. As less and less points are now up for grabs, Verstappen could secure his title in Las Vegas.

Verstappen does not want to take that leap into the future just yet. Speaking to Dutch media in Mexico City, the Dutchman does not yet want to get carried away about already celebrating a title in the United States. "But then I say to those people: 'You have to do it first'," the Red Bull driver is quoted by Dagblad de Limburger.

Verstappen takes engine change into account

In FP2 in Mexico, Max Verstappen was unable to set a lap time, and heard weird noises from his engine. As a result, Red Bull decided to replace it with a one used previously this season. With four more weekends on the calendar, the Dutchman might have to start one of them with a grid-penalty already on his mind. "The chances are that we will have to do an engine change as well," Verstappen confirmed. A change would possibly mean at least a five-place penalty for the Red Bull driver.

This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen


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