F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Max Verstappen confirms grid penalty coming after Baku breakage

Verstappen and Mekies in Baku — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen confirms grid penalty coming after Baku breakage

Adding insult to injury

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Saturday 26 September 2026 16:57

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Max Verstappen has confirmed that he will take an engine penalty before the end of the season.

The Dutchman took the last of a number of power unit parts within his season-long allocation at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, forced into the move by an issue with the engine during qualifying.

The change had the desired impact as the Dutchman produced a terrific drive on Saturday to finish second behind George Russell and agonisingly close to his first race win of 2026.

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While the power unit parts being within Verstappen's yearly allocation means that he didn't take a penalty in Baku, he did admit that there's one in his future, with his current parts unlikely to make it through the final seven or eight races of the season.

Verstappen was speaking before the decision to swap to a new engine was definitively made on Friday evening, lamenting his promising weekend being spoiled.

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Verstappen: Qualifying was a complete disaster

“Throughout qualifying, already from Q1, I had a problem with the engine," he said on Friday, "which meant I was losing at least half a second compared to my teammate. And it only got worse.

“In Q2 and Q3 it was a complete disaster, so I think we clearly have a problem with the engine.

“In Q1, we immediately saw a problem. Of course, at that point you still think, ‘What could it be? Is the engine too cold or actually too hot?’ All of that is possible, because it is all very sensitive nowadays.

“But later it became clear that we really did have a problem with the ICE. It only got worse and in Q3 that engine was no longer working properly at all.”

Asked whether a grid penalty will come his way later in the season, he admitted: “Yeah, there definitely has to be a penalty at some point."

F1 Max Verstappen