Max Verstappen says he’s uncertain about Red Bull's competitiveness relative to its rivals at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend due to several unknowns, while the likelihood of a 10-place grid penalty further clouds the Dutchman’s prospects.
After losing a power unit at last month’s Canadian Grand Prix, Red Bull is compelled to add a new engine to Verstappen's pool of hardware.
Strategically, Spa is a good venue to undertake a PU change and incur a grid penalty due to the circuit’s potential for overtaking, which should mitigate the impact of starting further back on the grid.
“Likely, yeah. But I knew of course that it is coming. It’s not a surprise to me,” commented the championship leader on his probable grid drop in Belgium.
“We’ll find out on Sunday how good that is going to be, right? Some tracks naturally are a bit better than others. Of course, on a street circuit, you wouldn’t want to have an engine penalty. So yeah, most likely it will be here.”
Despite winning the last three Belgian Grands Prix, Verstappen's recent form has been less dominant, with no victories in Austria, Great Britain, or Hungary
When pressed about the situation looking different compared to the last couple of years – and whether the goal this weekend would be damage limitation – Verstappen commented: “Probably yes.
“If you look at our last few races where we haven’t particularly been the fastest, I wouldn’t say that with 10 places extra we have a chance of winning.
“But again, a race can always be turned upside down with moments. We have to be open minded and try to make the best of it. That’s what we’ll try to do. At the moment, I also don’t know how competitive we’re going to be here.
“Also a few places there’s new tarmac, so we need to see how the tyres respond to that as well. So still a lot of unknowns.
“Obviously with the weather, quite a bit of rain expected on Friday and Saturday. So yeah, just need to follow the weather and just progression through the weekend, and see how competitive we are.”
Verstappen has previously showcased his ability to overcome grid penalties at Spa, winning from 14th in 2022 and sixth in 2023.
When asked about his expectations for this year's starting position, he replied, “I hope a little bit more, but let’s see. I don’t know, it’s difficult to predict at the moment.”
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