'It's almost certain Verstappen will need a fourth power unit'

Max Verstappen's hard crash at Silverstone has put the Dutchman in a tricky situation. After several tests by Honda, it was concluded that his Red Bull should get a new engine, his third of the season.

No grid penalty yet

The engine change in Hungary did not yet earn Verstappen a grid penalty, but it does put the Dutchman at the maximum number of engines he can use in a season. "It is almost certain that Max will need a fourth power source sooner or later," analyzes Speedweek.com. "And that will entail a penalty. And such a penalty can be decisive in such an exciting world championship battle."

So the big question is, when will Verstappen cash in on that penalty with another engine update? "The strategists at Red Bull Racing and Honda will be thinking very carefully about which circuit to bring a fourth engine into play at. It has to be a circuit where Max Verstappen can overtake well in the race and limit the damage."

Grid penalty in Italy or Russia

There is little chance that Verstappen will get a new engine as early as Belgium or the Netherlands. At Zandvoort, he will not want to start from the back of the grid in his home race anyway. "It is more likely that he will then take a penalty in Monza or Sochi for his fourth engine. In both places, Verstappen has done this before." In Monza 2019 Verstappen started nineteenth and finished eighth, in Russia 2018 he finished fifth from the nineteenth starting spot.