Max Verstappen hit with fresh penalty hours before Brazilian GP | F1 | Sport

Max Verstappen will start the Brazilian Grand Prix in the pit lane rather than 16th on the grid. Red Bull Racing is changing the RB21’s engine and adjusting its setup, according to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

Verstappen went out in the first qualifying session on Saturday for the first time since 2021 at the Russian Grand Prix, but back then that was due to engine problems. Asked about the championship afterwards, he said, “I can forget about that.”

However, the reigning champion came fourth in the sprint, earning five points. That leaves Verstappen 39 points behind leader Lando Norris with four races to go.

Oscar Piastri separated the two and qualified fourth but crashed out of the sprint race. Verstappen is now 30 points behind the Australian.

Red Bull‘s number one driver, however, has experience of coming from way back in the field to win. He did so in Brazil last year after starting 17th, having received a five-place grid penalty for using a sixth power unit change.

A year later, Verstappen has conceded that the team have yet to determine why his car was so uncompetitive. “We need to understand what our problems are, first of all,” he said.

“It’s not been good. It seems that we don’t really understand why it’s going that way.

“There was just no grip. I changed a few times the car and it didn’t work. That’s something that we need to figure out.”