Brundle on Verstappen's pending engine penalty: "Just have to suck it up"

Red Bull Racing look set to incur grid penalties with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, but Helmut Marko indicated on Friday morning that his team in Belgium may yet look to complete the season with parts from its own engine pool.

"The big thing for them is, that engine is now out of sync. They've got to take a penalty at some point," said Paul di Resta in Sky Sports' preview of the first free practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix. "When are you going to do that? Ironic that Perez lost an engine last weekend with Bottas. Tactically, Red Bull have got something against them. What do they do? The nice thing is they've got a nice fresh unit at some point to go against Mercedes. But when do they take it?"

It is still unclear when the Austrian formation plans to take the grid penalty. "Do they take it at Spa, Monza with the sprint qualifying. I just hope it doesn't come down to changing the championship order at the end of the year. Because these two guys going against each other is so special. If they use it the right way, it could be a benefit."

Two options Red Bull

Martin Brundle spoke to Helmut Marko on Friday morning and asked if the entire engine is written off or if there are still certain parts that can be reused in the pool of three power units. "I said 'is that engine completely out, can you Frankenstein bits together of the three engines/power units you're allowed?' He said 'We might try it on a Friday.' Let's see how it plays out. But it will cost Red Bull in terms of a grid position through a penalty, or maybe they have to run lower power in the later phases of the season. It's something they don't need, they feel it's through no fault of their own."

However, the F1 commentator knows that the team of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will just have to deal with it. "But there are no third party liability obligations between competitors. You can't blame other people for the issues you have unfortunately, they just have to suck it up and make the best of it. It's a long conversation, but that's the way it is," Brundle concluded.