Max Verstappen will take a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix due to a power unit change.
The world championship leader is therefore unlikely to start higher than sixth on the grid.
The FIA has announced that Red Bull will fit Verstappen’s sixth engine of the season in his RB20, will will earn him an automatic penalty.
Although Verstappen will take the new power unit before Saturday’s sprint race, the penalty will apply to Sunday’s Grand Prix and he will start the sprint race where he qualifies in today’s sprint qualifying session.
As Verstappen has already served a grid penalty earlier this season, at the Belgian Grand Prix, for exceeding his allocation of four power units for the season, his penalty is reduced to five places under F1’s sporting regulations, rather than the 10-place drop that drivers who install a fifth unit receive for first breaching their allowance.
Verstappen experienced problems with a power unit during practice last weekend in Mexico. The faults severely limited the amount of running he was able to complete on Friday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Verstappen sits 47 points ahead of championship rival Lando Norris with four rounds remaining in the season. Verstappen won last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
This article will be updated
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2024 Brazilian Grand Prix
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