Honda explains Verstappen engine change: 'All factors taken into account'

It was a reasonable day for the Honda teams. Pierre Gasly got the strongest result and finished on P3 in the second free practice. Max Verstappen had to make do with sixth place, Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda both fell outside the top ten.

"We had a relatively straightforward day with both teams and all four cars got through their planned programme. Following the damage to Max’s PU at the British GP, we knew we would have to introduce a fourth one at some point this season on his car", Toyoharu Tanabe says on the website of Honda.

During FP2 Red Bull Racing officially announced that they have changed Verstappen's engine. Because of this the Dutchman will start from the back of the grid during Sunday's race. Tanabe explains the decision. "Taking into account all the factors affecting this weekend, we and the team therefore decided to introduce the new PU here and we fitted it in time for FP2. It means Max will start from the back of the grid on Sunday."

"Tomorrow rain is expected and, based on today’s data we will now carry out simulations for all possible scenarios", Tanabe ends. The weather forecast means there will be possible shifts in the programme, but it remains to be seen what the weather actually does.