Verstappen Faces Uphill Battle in Brazil After Engine Penalty
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen will start the Brazilian Grand Prix from the pit lane, a significant setback for his fading title hopes. This dramatic change comes after his Red Bull Racing team decided to fit a new power unit to his RB21 car and make substantial setup adjustments, forcing him to forfeit his original P16 grid position.
A Qualifying Shock and Championship Blow
The weekend at Interlagos took a sour turn for Verstappen when he was shockingly eliminated in the first segment of qualifying on Saturday. This marked the first time he had failed to progress from Q1 since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. When questioned about the impact on the championship battle, a frustrated Verstappen stated, "I can forget about that."
Despite the qualifying disaster, the Dutch driver managed to salvage a measure of hope by securing fourth place in the Sprint race, earning five crucial points. However, with just four races remaining in the season, he now sits a daunting 39 points behind championship leader Lando Norris of McLaren.
History Offers a Glimmer of Hope
All is not lost for the triple world champion, who has a proven record of charging through the field. In a remarkable display of skill and racecraft during last year's Brazilian Grand Prix, Verstappen claimed victory after starting from 17th place on the grid, a position he was in due to a power unit component penalty.
The primary concern for the Red Bull camp remains a profound lack of understanding about the car's sudden loss of performance. Verstappen admitted the team is baffled, explaining, "We need to understand what our problems are, first of all. It's not been good. It seems that we don't really understand why it's going that way. There was just no grip."
In other news from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton avoided a grid penalty despite being found guilty of failing to slow for yellow flags during the Sprint qualifying session.
