Max Verstappen among F1 drivers on cusp of multiple penalties

Reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen is just one of the drivers on the 2025 grid who are on the cusp of multiple penalties heading into this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Ahead of the penultimate sprint weekend of the season in Sao Paulo, the FIA have released the official documentation that confirms how many Power Unit (PU) elements each driver has used up until this point in the season.

All 10 F1 teams have an allowance for each driver of four ICEs (internal combustion engines), TCs (turbochargers), MGU-Hs (Motor Generator Unit – Heat) and MGU-Ks (Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic). They are also permitted to have two ES' (energy stores) and CEs (control electronics), and eight of each of the four primary structural elements that make up a set of exhaust systems.

At such a late stage in the campaign, every single driver is right up against the limit and just one PU issue away from a major penalty, with some drivers having already been penalised for changes outside of their allowances.

These include Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda, Kimi Antonelli, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Ollie Bearman, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.

Verstappen at risk of Brazilian GP penalty

With just four rounds to go in this year's championship, Verstappen is slightly closer to a grid drop punishment than his F1 rivals due to the fact that he has already used the maximum of eight exhaust systems for his RB21 this season.

As a result, the Dutchman is at risk of having to serve a penalty this weekend at Interlagos, which would be less than ideal as his title charge ramps up in the fight to catch up to Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the drivers' standings.

If Verstappen does go over his permitted eight exhaust systems allowance, he will have to serve a 10-place grid penalty in Sunday's grand prix and for every subsequent time an additional exhaust system is used in the future, he would receive a five-place grid penalty.

Though a grid penalty of any kind would surely make his job of catching up to the McLarens significantly harder on track this weekend, the 28-year-old has form in Brazil for doing the impossible after winning last year's main event despite starting P17 thanks to a five-place penalty for taking on a new internal combustion engine.

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