This was seen coming and we’ve been warning about it for a long time: Max Verstappen He arrived fairer than Lando Norris at the end of the championship in the reliability of his engines and this could encourage the fight for the F1 World Championship against the British. And it will be. At this weekend’s 2024 F1 Brazilian GP, the champion and current World Cup leader will have to face a grid penalty this Sunday by replacing the combustion engine of your power unit.
The news isn’t official yet, but it’s something the Dutch media took for granted ‘De Telegraaf’, whose journalist, Erik Van Haren, is very close to the Dutch pilot.
By changing only one element of its power unit (combustion engine), outside the limited number allowed in a whole year, the The penalty that Max Verstappen will get on the grid is 5 positions, waiting to see if Red Bull prefers to change other elements and increase his penalty at Interlagos to face the last races of the year with a completely fresh unit of electricity.
That penalty of 5 places on the grid for Sunday’s race makes things difficult for the Dutchman to reduce his losses in Brazil against a McLaren that is more competitive than his current Red Bull.
Max installed his 5th engine of the year (out of 4 allowed) at the last Belgian GPchanging many elements, which cost him 10 penalty spots. On that occasion he achieved pole position and therefore started 11th and managed to move up to 4th in the race. This time, yes If he achieves pole position on Saturday in qualifying, he will start from 6th place, while if he is 2nd, he will start from 7th place.and others.
Therefore, the fight against the clock on Saturday will be important so that Max has a greater chance of reducing his losses against a Lando who cannot afford to make mistakes and will rely on himself and the Ferraris’ good performance to make the most of it. out of possible points.
Verstappen leads the World Championship with 4 Grands Prix remaining (and 2 sprints) 47 points ahead of Norris, so yes Landau Take advantage of this opportunity, you can face the last 3 rounds with greater options and putting greater pressure on the three-time F1 champion.
We must remember that this weekend is a sprint format, that is, there will be a short race on Saturday. In that sense, it should be noted that this grid penalty will only be applicable for Sunday’s race and will not affect the sprint race.
Red Bull makes the Constructors’ World Cup difficult
This penalty can cost you a lot. Red Bull also in his fight for Constructors’ World Cup. Ferrari’s great rise since Austin made them Maranello They caught up a week ago in Mexico.
So far, there are 4 Grand Prix left, McLaren leads the Constructors’ standings with 566 points, with Ferrari in second place with 537 points, while Red Bull is third with 512.. Max will need to maximize his performance despite the penalty, as well as ‘Checo’ Pérez who continues to accumulate bad results that do not help the Milton Keynes team to win that brand title.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.