Max Verstappen hit with penalty at Brazilian Grand Prix as Red Bull boss speaks out

Max Verstappen is set to start at the back of the grid for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix due to an engine penalty. The Dutchman has won three of the last four races to leapfrog the Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc into second in the Drivers' Championship. But the Red Bull driver will need to produce a sublime drive to secure an eighth successive podium finish.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has confirmed they will change Verstappen's engine, which will incur a penalty for the four-time world champion.

Mekies told Sky Sports F1: "As you may or may not know, we will have to take an engine penalty with Max. He will start from the back, a position he knows very well here after the last two years.

"He has done a few miracles in the past here starting from the back and we are sure that he will do a few more this year."

Verstappen has a history of miraculous turnarounds in Sao Paolo, winning from 17th on the grid in 2024 before recovering from a pitlane start last year to finish third.

But the 29-year-old appeared fed up when discussing his latest engine penalty to Viaplay.

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He laughed as he explained to the Nordic outlet in Brazil: "Qualifying doesn't really matter that much, to be honest. I'm starting last anyway, because we have a new engine in the car.

"It makes sense that you'd go all out right away. That decision was made sometime after Friday's session, because we saw that it needed to be replaced."

On his history of recovery drives at this Grand Prix, Verstappen added: "At some point, you just get tired of it, right? Sure, it was fun, but I don't really want to do it here every year.

"But yeah, that's just how it is. That's why today doesn't really matter all that much," he added. "It's just going to be a bit of a long day..."

Verstappen is not the only driver serving a penalty. Mercedes' George Russell will be demoted five places on the grid after fitting a sixth internal combustion engine (ICE) of 2026.

And the Ferrari pairing of Hamilton and Leclerc will both serve 10-place grid penalties for taking new ICEs, exceeding their season allocation of four engines.

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