Max Verstappen is at the limit regarding the components of the Power Unit: Red Bull would therefore like to play for the wildcard in Belgium, at Spa, facing a 10 position penalty. An all in all acceptable sacrifice given that it is possible to recover on the Belgian circuit, and which will allow Max to return from the summer break with a fresh Power Unit for the Dutch GP to counteract McLaren's growth.
Red Bull is going through a really complicated period. Of the last 4 races Verstappen he only won 1, and in Hungary the Dutchman even missed the podium, ending up arguing with his track engineer for the entire race. A show that is not exactly befitting of a champion team, but which makes the difficulties of Red Bull, not satisfied with the performance of the RB20, even more evident. To add further problems there is the issue of reliability. Max Verstappen had to resort to new components right from the first races, and this put him at risk for the last races before the summer break.
Verstappen: 10-place grid penalty expected for ICE gearbox
The start of the weekend on the Spa-Francorchamps track, scene of the next Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, could prove more complicated than expected for Max Verstappen. According to what was reported by the English newspaper RacingNews365, the three-time world champion may have to serve a ten-place penalty on the starting grid for the installation of the fifth thermal unit (ICE) of the four allowed throughout the season.
A penalty that would allow Verstappen to count on a fresh unit, but without having to start from the back. For each extra component, 5 positions are lost, but Red Bull intends to fit old elements.
However, expectations for the next race weekend are high. Helmut Marko told Speedweek: “Now we go to Belgium, one of Max's favorite tracks, where the weather changes almost every hour and, apparently, it will be the same this time too: rain on Friday and Saturday, but probably a dry track for the race. This should work in our favor.”
Source: FormulaPassion
