Метка: Brazilian GP

Alonso reveals back pain and brake “nightmare” that he would not let beat him

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Fernando Alonso has opened up on the back pain, emotions and mystery brake problems that he battled to drag his Aston Martin to the finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard had been struggling throughout last weekend with the new bumpy Interlagos surface, but matters reached a peak in the race as the repeated impacts were felt in his spine.

But despite the pain, a far from competitive car that had been repaired after his qualifying crash, plus brake issues that kept trying to pitch him off the track, he said there was no way he was going to simply give up.

During the race, Alonso came on the team radio to tell his team why he did not want to retire the car.

“I will finish the race for the mechanics,” he said. “They did a very good job today. But my back is hurting, man. This bouncing is not normal.”

After being consoled and hugged by a mechanic as he gingerly got out of his car after the race, Alonso explained that his situation had been getting worse and worse – but at no point was he ready to retire.

“There was a lot of bouncing, a lot of porpoising in the second half of the race,” he said. “I don’t know why, but it was a tough race. We were out of the points.

“I think in any other circumstances, probably I would have stopped. But the mechanics did an incredible job before the race to put the car ready on the grid, so I had to finish it for them.”

Alonso said he had been aware before of the challenges his back would face in the race and that was on top of the other issue of an intestinal infection that had prompted a trip back to Europe after Mexico and his late arrival in Brazil.

“It was painful, for sure. The lead-up to this race, it was a lot of preparation from my side, a lot of checks, a lot of work, a lot of physio and doctors in order to come here in Brazil,” he said.

“So it was a lot of effort from everybody: the same effort as the mechanics put in today.

“It was not comfortable in the car. But there are people worse than me, also in Valencia, we have these terrible images and people struggling. So I had to struggle a couple of laps for everybody.”

Brake issue

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

As well as battling the pain barrier, Alonso also had to overcome huge challenges in staying on track in the race – with his Aston Martin car suffering from brake problems.

In what appears to have been a repeat phenomenon to what pitched Lance Stroll off on the formation lap, Alonso said the rears kept locking after the restarts.

“I think Lance had the brake problem in the formation lap, and I had the brake issue after all the restarts, where all the brake balance goes completely rearwards,” he said. “It was like braking with a hand brake.

“So all in all it was a nightmare out there. We need to get better for the next three.”

Stroll, who compounded his formation lap spin into the barrier at Turn 4 by getting beached in a gravel trap that he tried to get across at low speed, said there was no immediate explanation for the brake issue.

“Yeah strange,” he said. “As soon as I touched the brakes, I just had a huge rear lock, and then I was a passenger from there.

“I never felt that in the car [before]. So maybe there was a brake failure problem. We have to look into it.”

The brake issue across both cars could be a consequence of the team’s brake mapping for wet restarts, aimed at warming the rear tyres by shifting the balance backwards, not resetting.



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Norris, Russell fined and reprimanded for aborted start chaos in Brazil F1 GP

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McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes driver George Russell have been handed a reprimand and a 5,000 euro fine for breaching the FIA’s start procedure at Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Sao Paulo’s F1 race received a messy start, with Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll spinning into the gravel on the formation lap at the entry into Turn 4. Stroll’s stricken car meant the start had to be aborted, which resets the start procedure and comes with a 10-minute delay for crews to ready the cars for the new start.

Watch: How the Right Calls Led to Verstappen’s Incredible Comeback — F1 Brazil GP Race Reaction

Drivers are supposed to return to the starting grid or stay there when the aborted start message is displayed, but polesitter Norris launched off the grid when the message appeared on the start gantry.

In the confusion, the drivers directly behind Norris followed his example; second-placed starter Russell and both RB drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson.

Others followed the procedure correctly and remained stationary, like Red Bull’s eventual winner Max Verstappen who was confused by what was going on. Eventually, every car left the grid to catch up to the rest of the train.

The incident was investigated after the race so the FIA stewards could hear from the teams involved, and late on Sunday night they penalised Norris and Russell for not following the right procedures.

As the front row starters that caused the disruption, Norris and Russell were slapped with a 5,000 fine and a reprimand for not following the correct procedure.

They therefore keep their respective finishing positions of sixth (Norris) and fourth (Russell).

«Although the signal was appropriately given the light panel illuminated as prescribed, and the teams notified by the messaging system, the driver left the grid and proceeded on a lap that he assumed to be an extra formation lap,» read the verdict for both Britons.

«As the driver was on the front row of the grid this triggered following drivers to take similar action.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, lead the field away for the formation lap

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, lead the field away for the formation lap

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

«At some point the Race Director, realising that for practical reasons all cars would now need to do an extra formation lap, gave an instruction to the teams for all cars to proceed and return to the grid to follow the correct aborted start procedure.

«In the opinion of the stewards, the driver precipitated the action of the drivers on the grid directly behind him.»

There was no further action for Tsunoda and Lawson, because they reacted to Norris and Russell directly in front of them and therefore were «not predominately responsible for the breach».

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Verstappen relieved by vital Brazilian GP win that puts F1 title in reach

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Max Verstappen breathed a huge sigh of relief after his spectacular victory in the rain-hit Brazilian Grand Prix saw him close in on the 2024 Formula 1 world drivers’ title.

While his nearest championship rival Lando Norris faltered, finishing sixth after starting from pole, Verstappen held his nerve with a flawless performance in the wet.

The reigning world champion served up an incredible 17 fastest laps as he powered his way up from 17th on the grid to glory.

Having barely put a wheel wrong, his opponents slid off track and duffed the barriers, making it arguably Verstappen’s most impressive performance in the wet. His victory, plus the bonus point for setting the fastest lap, means he increased his lead on Norris to 62 points.

The Red Bull driver can win his fourth straight title next time out in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as this year’s drivers’ championship battle fizzled out on lap 43 in Brazil. As Verstappen passed Esteban Ocon for the lead, Norris went wide into Turn 1 and required a positional swap with team-mate Oscar Piastri to retake sixth.

Verstappen’s first grand prix win since the Spanish GP on 23 June all-but kills off Norris’ slim chance of snatching his maiden title.

The Dutchman said: “This was, of course looking at it now, incredibly important, because in a way I was expecting to lose points. From now, I just want clean races to the end [of the season].

“I am not thinking about clinching the championship in Vegas or whatever. I just want clean races. That was important. I wanted to win a bit sooner but it’s been tough for us.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“We always kept pushing. We didn’t really understand why the others were so fast in the race.

“I’ve been trying a lot of things to improve the car. Starting P17 this morning didn’t look like we’re going to win the race again. So, it’s an incredible result for us.

“A massive boost for the team because honestly it’s been tough. But it is also a big strength of the team to stay calm and just try to work on performance and try to improve our situation.

“I’m confident for the last three races, that we can fight again and, especially in the race, that we will be more competitive.”

Verstappen admitted he wanted to “destroy” the team’s garage after an ill-timed red flag in qualifying, coupled with a five-place engine penalty, meant that he would start the race in 17th.

Speaking about his impressive recovery drive, he added: “My emotions went from wanting to destroy the garage to winning the race.

“We had a good start that helped. We had a good first lap and from there on, we just picked off a few drivers here and there.

“I got a little bit stuck behind the train of [RB’s] Yuki [Tusnoda] and then we just stayed calm. It was a very long race and we made the right calls. When some pitted and the rain was coming, we stayed out, which was very sketchy.

Race winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Race winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“I was like, ‘I’m just happy to keep the car on the track’. At one point it was just red [flag conditions]. We needed a red flag.

“It was just undriveable; even on extreme tyres it would have not been possible. It almost felt like I was driving a boat or a jet ski!”

Verstappen’s smile — and the swagger — has clearly returned after he felt hard done by with penalties and subsequent criticism following his performances in Austin and Mexico, where he clashed with Norris. This followed being in the spotlight for swearing during a live press conference in Singapore and getting a community service punishment.

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Verstappen had earlier claimed that he “has the wrong passport» for the F1 paddock, inferring there is a British bias, so he stopped the press conference to hit back, saying: “I have a quick question here. I appreciate all of you being here, but I don’t see any British press. They have to run to the airport or anything?

“They don’t know where the press conference is? You know, that’s a fair question. That’s a fair question.”



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Norris on pole from Russell and Tsunoda in dramatic qualifying

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McLaren’s Lando Norris topped qualifying at Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix while Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was controversially eliminated after falling foul of the wet session’s many red flags.

George Russell will start second for this afternoon’s brought-forward race for Mercedes, with Yuki Tsunoda third for RB as Verstappen’s engine-change grid penalty means he will start 17th – behind Lewis Hamilton, who was eliminated in Q1.

In Q3, Norris led with a time of 1m25.631s after the first runs on the intermediate tyres, with the cars fuelled to run long as the teams expected the fluctuating rain to intensify again.

He improved this to a 1m24.158s to head Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren before Fernando Alonso became the second Aston Martin driver of the session to crash out – the Spaniard losing his car through the plunging Turn 11 left at the end of the middle sector.

The drivers lined up to try again with seven minutes left on the clock and their first efforts back on track did not yield improvements as they built tyre temperature – Russell, Piastri and Tsunoda all having moments, the latter two spinning.

But before any purple sectors could be registered, Albon crashed hard at Turn 1 – appearing to brake on the wet white line while also wondering if he had a brake problem after spinning off backwards, wrecking the rear of his Williams and causing a fifth red flag.

Afterwards, the teams took two different approaches, with the McLarens fuelled to do two laps, Norris improving the pole time with both – first to a 1m24.092s and then finally to a 1m23.405s.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Piastri did not improve on his first go and then locked up at Turn 1 and went off on his final lap, which meant the drivers that were kept in the garage for extra time with their inters in the tyre blankets and time for just one run were able to gain.

First Liam Lawson got up to second before he was shuffled down by Tsunoda and Norris, while Esteban Ocon – a two-lap runner for the final efforts – snuck into fourth for Alpine.

Charles Leclerc ended up sixth as the lead Ferrari having got to Turn 1 with a yellow flag activated for Piastri’s off on his final lap, with Albon nudged down to seventh but still ahead of Piastri.

The crashed Astons of Alonso and Lance Stroll ended up with the ninth and 10th slots – the latter not taking part in Q3 due to his early incident in Q2.

That was a momentous mini-session for the title contenders, as Norris stat 11th and on the verge of a shock exit when Carlos Sainz crashing at Turn 1 imperilled his progress – Norris having also struggled on the full wets used in Q1 before Piastri led the switch to inters in the middle segment.

But Norris was able to gain on his first lap out of the pits on the inters when Q2 resumed and then go even quicker, while Verstappen did not improve and along with his team-mate, Sergio Perez, was shuffled down into the drop zone.

Both Red Bull drivers were then caught on the wrong side of a second red flag called with less than a minute left – caused by Stroll crashing at Turn 3.

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That also eliminated Valtteri Bottas in 11th – the Finn’s best qualifying result since he was 10th in China – the already out Sainz and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Verstappen led Q1, where Franco Colapinto crashed halfway through, which meant a tricky end to the session for the rest as the rain increased and the times only really began to improve right at the end.

Norris squeaked through in 15th, while Lawson’s late improvement knocked out Hamilton, who was furious with “this damn car”.

Oliver Bearman and Nico Hulkenberg also failed to progress in a session when Bottas had made an unsuccessful switch to inters before the red flag, while his team-mate Zhou Guanyu had the chance to knock out Norris but the Sauber driver’s final lap was only good enough for last.

Brazilian Grand Prix — Starting grid



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How F1’s Brazilian GP grid will be formed if qualifying does not happen

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The unexpected downpour that forced qualifying for Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix to be postponed has prompted great intrigue about a unique ‘what if’ scenario.

And it is that, if the weather in Sao Paulo remains treacherous on Sunday morning and the rescheduled session cannot run, how will the grid for the F1 race be formed?

The matter has no definitive answer because, quite amazingly, there is nothing in the 2024 F1 Sporting Regulations that lays out definitively how a grid will be defined if qualifying cannot take place.

Quite why this is the case is not clear, but interestingly it is something that has been addressed for the 2025 season with an amendment to the regulations already stating how a grid will be put together in such circumstances.

A new Article 42.1 of the Sporting Regulations states that “in the exceptional circumstance” that qualifying does not take place then “with acceptance of the Stewards that the session cannot take place, the grid for the race will be defined based upon the drivers’ championship classification.”

That alteration was put in after the most recent F1 Commission and World Motor Sport Council meetings last month, but it is understood it came too late for an agreement to be reached for them to added to the 2024 rules.

Rain falls ahead of the qualifying

Rain falls ahead of the qualifying

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

So where does that leave things under the current circumstance for defining a grid right now?

There are two regulations here that potentially deal with the scenario of forming a grid when no qualifying times have been set – although neither are explicit in whether or not they deal with the circumstances of there being no qualifying session.

There is Article 39.4b that details a scenario of dealing with drivers who are “unclassified.” This is for any driver that “failed to set a time in Q1 or SQ1, or if all their laps were deleted.”

The rules then go on to explain that the classification of such a driver will be allocated “in accordance with the order they were classified in P3 (or, in the case a Sprint Session is scheduled, P1).”

This rule is intriguing though because it can be subject to a great deal of interpretation.

One viewpoint is that if qualifying is cancelled, because all drivers did not set a time in Q1, then everyone is ‘unclassified’ so on a sprint weekend that order would be decided by P1.

That would mean the fastest driver in opening practice, Lando Norris, taking pole position – with Max Verstappen being handed 15th on the grid before being moved back another five places because of his engine grid penalty.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

However, such an interpretation of the rules is not shared by everyone because there is a viewpoint that if qualifying is cancelled, but SQ1 has taken place, then the wording of 39.4b) actually means that any driver who did a lap in sprint qualifying is ‘classified’.

In that case, article 42.3 is triggered which deals with how the grid order is handed out.

This states: “Classified drivers who have received 15 or less cumulative grid penalties will be allocated a temporary grid position equal to their qualifying session or sprint qualifying session classification plus the sum of their grid penalties.»

In this case, it can be interpreted that the grid order for classified drivers is taken from their sprint qualifying classification.

That would mean Oscar Piastri takes pole position for the grand prix ahead of Norris, with Verstappen down in fourth place before his grid penalty.

All of this debate about the interpretation of the regulations is superseded, however, by the International Sporting Code.

A test case for this came at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix when there was a risk of the grid not being formed in similar circumstances when qualifying was rained off on Saturday morning and delayed until Sunday.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF90, Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren MCL34, and Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF90, in the pit lane at the start of Qualifying

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF90, Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren MCL34, and Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF90, in the pit lane at the start of Qualifying

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Amid fears that qualifying may not even take place then, the stewards issued a note detailing what would happen if they had to form a grid without it.

They noted that “the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations are silent on the subject.”

Instead, they exercised the authority that was handed down to them under Article 11.9.3b of the International Sporting Code to decide how the grid would be formed.

This ISC rule gives the stewards total authority to “amend the Supplementary Regulations” – which effectively means they can decide how a grid is formed.

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At the time they concluded that this would be based on the second free practice times from Suzuka, which was the last competitive session that took place because Saturday was a complete wash-out.

In the event that Sunday qualifying does not happen in Brazil then a repeat circumstance of the stewards picking which session determines the grid will be enacted – and would most likely be the sprint qualifying result.

However, there is nothing to stop them choosing any criteria they want.



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F1 Brazilian GP qualifying delayed by heavy storm

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Qualifying for the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix has been delayed after a deluge of rain began to fall half an hour before the session was due to begin at 1500 local time.

The sprint race had run on Saturday morning in dry conditions, with McLaren’s Lando Norris winning ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri.

But between the sessions it began raining at Interlagos, with the FIA allowing teams to close their garages because of the downpour.

With the radars suggesting rain would continue and with lightning spotted over the track, the decision was taken to delay the start of qualifying indefinitely.

The next update was due to be announced at 1800, when qualifying was originally scheduled to begin.

More to follow



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Bearman explains early wake-up call for Haas stand-in drive

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Oliver Bearman revealed he was woken up on Friday morning with the call to replace Kevin Magnussen for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

With Haas driver Magnussen taken ill, Bearman stepped in for the Dane for the second time this season and duly qualified 10th for Saturday’s sprint, before finding out he would fill Magnussen’s shoes for the entire weekend.

Having initially been drafted in for the sprint running in Sao Paulo, Bearman discovered shortly after the qualifying session that he would start the third F1 grand prix of his career on Sunday.

«Kevin Magnussen will not participate in Friday’s track running at the São Paulo Grand Prix after suffering with sickness,» a statement from Haas said. 

«Official reserve driver Oliver Bearman will take over driving duties. The team wishes Kevin a quick recovery and will provide a further update in due course.»

Bearman, who made his F1 debut as a late stand-in for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, will race full-time for Haas in 2025 and stood in for Magnussen when he was banned for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24

Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

The race in Baku was so far the only time the Briton has been able to fully prepare for a race, but he was delighted to get the call from Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu on Friday, regardless of how early it came.

“Ayao woke me up this morning at, like, 6:30 with his call,” said Bearman.

“When I saw his name I wasn’t so mad. If it was my mum or something, not realising the time difference, I would have been a bit more angry!

“Of course, I want to give my best to Kevin because I know he’s feeling bad, and he has had a lot of success at the track and he took pole here. Of course, I am very happy to get into an F1 car and it is a pleasure.”

Bearman is the first driver in F1 history to score points for two different teams in his first two races, having finished seventh in Jeddah for Ferrari and 10th on his Haas debut in Baku.

Brazil presents his first chance to take part in an F1 sprint race before then lining up for the grand prix on Sunday.

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, speaks with Mark Slade, Race Engineer, Haas F1 Team

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, speaks with Mark Slade, Race Engineer, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

He outqualified the sister Haas of Nico Hulkenberg in sprint qualifying – only for an error at the start of his hot lap in the top-10 shoot-out to prevent him starting even further up the field.

“I mean, the car was feeling really good all day,» he added. «Honestly, from the first lap I did in FP1 I had a great feeling.

“So, yeah, happy to be in SQ3 and finally make it to the third stage of a qualifying session but I just made a little mistake in sector one which lost me a lot of time. The rest of the lap was really, really good so I’m a bit disappointed.”

Watch: Why Interlagos Is a Major Challenge for F1 Teams in 2024 — Brazil GP Friday Reaction



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Leclerc fined by FIA for swearing in F1 press conference

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Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has been handed a €10,000 fine, half of which is suspended, for swearing in the Mexico Grand Prix’s post-race press conference.

After finishing third in Mexico City, Leclerc used an expletive in the FIA press conference to describe his thinking as he went off the track at Mexico’s final corner, which allowed McLaren driver Lando Norris through to claim second.

«I had one oversteer and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side and then I was like, ‘fuck’,» Leclerc said.

He then realised he might get in trouble over his choice of words given FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s recent crackdown on swearing, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen handed a community service penalty for his own use of the word in Singapore.

«Oh, sorry! Oh no, I don’t want to join Max,» Leclerc laughed.

But after investigating the matter on Friday evening in Brazil, the FIA stewards decided to hand the Ferrari driver a €10,000 fine instead, with €5,000 suspended provided there is no repeat offence over the next 12 months.

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Explaining their verdict, the stewards argued that Leclerc immediately being apologetic was a mitigating factor in his punishment, and that Leclerc’s offence was not at the same level of Verstappen’s swearing in Singapore.

«The Stewards reviewed the transcript of the Post-Race Drivers’ Press Conference in Mexico and found that Charles Leclerc, the driver of car 16, used language in response to a somewhat leading question asking him “what did you say to yourself” in relation to the significant moment towards the end of the race when Leclerc was fighting to control the car at the exit of the last corner,» the verdict read.

«In response Leclerc used coarse language being the accurate recollection of what he thought to himself at the time. Leclerc immediately realised his error and apologised. Such language is not considered suitable for broadcast.

This is “Misconduct” as defined in Article 20 of the International Sporting Code, and is a breach of Article 12.2.1.k. The Stewards noted that the language was not directed at anyone or any group and that Leclerc immediately apologised.

«During the hearing Leclerc expressed his regret for his momentary lack of judgment and shared that he understood his responsibility as a role model for the sport. The Stewards considered the mitigation factor that Leclerc was immediately apologetic.

«The Stewards while noting that the driver’s contrite behaviour conclude that a breach has occurred and a penalty is warranted. The Stewards do not consider that this breach reached the same level as the most recent case and as such chose to levy a fine of €10,000 with €5,000 suspended pending no repeat within 12 months.»

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

Verstappen therefore remains the only F1 driver to serve community service penalties, with the Dutchman previously joining the FIA stewards at the 2019 Formula E round in Marrakesh as an observer to gain a better understanding of how they worked.

Verstappen was given the penalty for shoving Esteban Ocon in parc ferme at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Later on, Verstappen also joined a meeting of the FIA’s International Stewards Programme as part of his community service.

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Verstappen takes engine penalty for Sunday’s Brazilian GP

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Max Verstappen will take a five-place grid penalty for an engine change for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, as he moves onto his sixth internal combustion engine of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

The championship leader had already taken a new ICE beyond the allowable limit of four at July’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, this being the third successive year that Red Bull had chosen to take the hit at that circuit.

Following a series of power unit issues in Mexico’s Friday sessions, as an air leak kept Verstappen confined to the garage during the final part of FP1 and the majority of FP2, Red Bull has chosen to take another engine from outside its pool.

This means that Verstappen will lose five places from wherever he qualifies for Sunday’s grand prix, although his sprint race qualifying result will be unaffected.

Verstappen will also use a new exhaust system, his eighth of the season, which takes him to the maximum permitted to last the campaign.

The Dutchman has been in an increasingly precarious situation with his engine allowance for much of the season, as a problem with one unit in practice for the Canadian Grand Prix in June led to a lengthy inspection — leading to a fourth ICE being used as early as Spain.

This led to Red Bull taking a new Honda powerplant at Spa, but Verstappen has now lost another from his pool as a result of the issues in Mexico.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF that the engine eventually used at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez «was no longer intended for the race, and the older an engine gets, the more its performance diminishes.»

He added that the Red Bull was giving up approximately «three to eight km/h on the straights» thanks to the reduction in horsepower.

Asked on Thursday if Brazil was one of the less compromising races to take a power unit penalty, Verstappen responded that it was not a certainty that he could recover ground lost to a penalty.

«That is something that is always unknown. You think that one particular track is the best place to take an engine or whatever penalty, but it’s never guaranteed. But yeah, it’s a possibility.»



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