Fans have long waited for an obstacle to fall in Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s path. Just anything to make the race a little challenging for the dominant driver. Now, all prayers have been answered, as Red Bull’s latest decision will ensure that Verstappen doesn’t have the easiest path to victory.
The team has announced that Verstappen will use an extra gearbox for the upcoming race, crossing the 4-mark limit. Thus, the champion is hit with a five-place grid penalty. This opens the doors for his competitors, namely, McLaren and Mercedes, to try and find a way to end Verstappen’s winning streak.
With multiple narratives on the line, Sergio Perez would have the spotlight on him too. Bad qualifying results marr the driver’s season in the last few races. Now, with Verstappen out of the way, a solid P2 finish would immediately put Perez on pole for a possible victory with the beastly Red Bull car.
Why does Max Verstappen have a 5-place grid penalty?
F1 teams are limited to four gearbox assemblies per driver for the entire season. Verstappen is now the first driver to have exceeded that. After complaining about gear sync issues for the first half of the season, Red Bull is making a strategic change.
While this pushes Verstappen five places behind wherever he qualifies, the circuit allows for great overtaking opportunities and it shouldn’t necessarily take a win away from the serial victor.
Additionally, Verstappen is confident. Ahead of the weekend, he knows there is little to worry about. “I think we have a quick car. Of course, there are a lot of other teams and I think they brought a lot more than us this year because we couldn’t.”
Verstappen proved himself in Belgium already
Last season, Verstappen started 14th on the grid at Spa and made his way to a dominant victory at the circuit. Once again, it was grid penalties that saw Verstappen further back than he was used to.
However, Spa is notorious for its problems, and red and yellow flags frequented the race. A statement about his dominance, as we know, in the 2023 season, the driver has only gotten better.
Surely, his strategy would be similar to last year’s. “I picked the right places to pass people, and we could look after our tires. That’s how we made our way forward.”
Further, while fans are wishing for a challenge this season, Verstappen had a similar prayer last time around. “This weekend has been incredible. It’s been a weekend I couldn’t imagine before, but I think we want more of them so we’ll keep on working hard.”
Now, Verstappen has a chance to put on the show of a lifetime. Shaking things up a bit, it would surely be a race to tune in to.
