Max Verstappen facing grid penalty as Red Bull process ‘strategic’ engine tactic

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted the team will “inevitably” take a grid penalty for Max Verstappen for a new power unit later this season, but it will be a matter of when they choose to do so.

Verstappen suffered damage to his engine in practice at the Canadian Grand Prix in June, prompting a fresh power unit to be used earlier than planned – making the prospect of going beyond his allocation more likely.

Likely Max Verstappen grid penalty ‘a question of when’ – Christian Horner

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Sam Cooper

Verstappen holds a comfortable lead in the Drivers’ Championship as it stands, though with the likes of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari now breathing down the necks of Red Bull on a competitive basis, a grid penalty is likely to be more costly than it was last season.

With that in mind, Horner explained that the team will look to take their penalty with Verstappen in a strategic manner – which likely indicates to be at a circuit which allows more overtaking opportunities.

“I’m sure at some point we’ll end up taking an extra engine for Max, it’s just a question of when you choose strategically to do that,” Horner explained to media including PlanetF1.com.

“So we’ll work with Honda on that, but inevitably, we will take a penalty at some point.”

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With Horner’s much-talked-about ‘diminishing returns’ having appeared to have taken effect in Red Bull’s development, along with other rivals making strides, the fight at the front of the field looks more competitive than it has done for quite some time.

Lewis Hamilton became Formula 1’s sixth different winner of the season at Silverstone, and even though Verstappen still holds a healthy lead in the World Championship with his seven race victories, the Red Bull team principal believes the sport as a whole is in rude health.

“I think Formula 1 can’t be in a better place at the moment,” he said.

“I mean, if you look at the last five, six races we’ve had Lewis, we’ve had Lando, we’ve had Max, we’ve had Charles Leclerc, it’s moving around and the only one that’s managed to be there consistently has been Max.

“You can see by the crowds that it’s delivering, and I’m sure Lewis’ win was a very popular win in front of a home crowd.

“When we were winning races by 30-40 seconds last year, it was slightly less stressful.

“But it’s weird because when you’re winning races by that margin, you’re just focused on reliability and other elements – now you don’t get a chance to think about reliability because it’s all about driving flat out.

“I think it’s more rewarding to win a hard-fought race, of course it is. But 2023, I think it’s only with hindsight will become a very special year and what was achieved that year, because it really was, I keep referring to it as a ‘unicorn year’. They don’t exist.

“What we did last year was never achieved before and may never be achieved again. So this is far more normal Formula 1, but we still have an 80-something point lead in the Drivers’ Championship and have extended our lead in the Constructors’.”

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