Why Red Bull takes a risk with Verstappen’s Spa engine penalty

Red Bull faces a riskier outcome regarding Max Verstappen’s expected grid penalty for exceeding his 2024 Formula 1 engine allocation at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, compared to similar situations in 2022 and 2023.

While Red Bull has not yet confirmed if Verstappen is indeed set to take another ICE at the upcoming race at Spa – and is unlikely to do so before this is required by the rules ahead of opening practice on Friday, if the new part has been fitted for that session – Autosport has learned this is the case ahead of the Spa weekend commencing.

Team boss Christian Horner had said it was “inevitable that we’ll take the next engine at some point” in the remainder of the 2024 season, after Verstappen lost a brand-new engine due to an electric problem in FP2 for the Canadian GP last month, which Honda was concerned had badly damaged a new internal combustion unit element.

Verstappen has been lumbered with grid penalties at the last two Belgian events, as Spa’s long straights and lengthy acceleration zones mean overtaking is easier around this course, especially for faster cars starting out of position.

In 2022, he started down on row seven due to several engine parts being replaced but shot back to reach the podium placings in just eight laps, then overcame team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to hit the front well before the halfway point.

Then, last year, Verstappen started sixth due to needing an extra gearbox – battling by Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Perez after Oscar Piastri and Sainz had tangled on the opening lap ahead.

There will be plenty of interest in Verstappen’s performance this weekend – a second home race for the 26-year-old given the track’s proximity to the Netherlands and his half-Belgian heritage.

Red Bull is expected to convert his RB20 back to its pre-Hungary look in terms of its sidepod and engine cover bodywork for the Spa event, with Horner confirming last Sunday night at Budapest that “the car is a different specification again next weekend” given the lower downforce levels run at this track compared to the high downforce requirements in Hungary.

Verstappen is also heading into the weekend off the back of a difficult event in Budapest, where he was kept off the front row by the McLaren drivers, beaten and embattled during…