F1 Brazil GP: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to take five place grid penalty

Red Bull’s Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen will take a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race in Brazil in a boost for McLaren rival Lando Norris.

FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer said in a statement on Friday that the Dutch driver will be using his sixth internal combustion engine for the race at Interlagos, his second such breach of the season.

The allowance for the campaign is four and Verstappen took a 10-place penalty for using a fifth engine at the Belgian Grand Prix in July.

The rules state that the first breach is a 10 place drop with five-place demotions for subsequent ones.

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Verstappen is 47 points clear of Norris with four rounds remaining, including two Saturday sprints, and a maximum 120 points still to be won.

Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit is relatively easy for overtaking, making it the best place to take a grid penalty of the remaining races.

Verstappen’s struggling Mexican team mate Sergio Perez will have a chassis change as he seeks to end a dire run of form.

“We’ve changed him back into a different chassis. He asked if we can: yeah, fine, ok. The boys got a bit of work but they didn’t mind so there we go,” Red Bull’s chief engineer Paul Monaghan said.