Lando Norris gets major F1 title boost as Red Bull decision sees Max Verstappen given grid penalty

LANDO NORRIS has received a huge boost to his Formula One title bid after it was revealed that Max Verstappen will receive a grid penalty.

The McLaren driver closed the gap to his Red Bull rival down to 47 points at the Mexico Grand Prix with four race weekends to go, starting with this weekend’s race and sprint in Brazil.

Norris‘ title hopes have now received a big boost after it was revealed that his Dutch rival will be taking a grid penalty at Interlagos.

Following unconfirmed reports about taking a new engine, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has now confirmed Verstappen will have a new power unit fitted.

It comes after the three-time world champion experienced engine issues at the Mexico City race last weekend, with Marko revealing there was a leak in the engine’s intake tract.

While drivers are given an allowance for new engine parts across the season due to general wear and tear and potential crashes, the new power unit will fall outside of the allowance.

That means he will be punished with a grid penalty.

Verstappen has already taken the maximum allocation of four allocated turbochargers, MGU-H, and MGU-Ks, as well as two energy stores and control electronics.

And that means that while the 27-year-old should be granted a boost in performance from the new parts, he will have to fight his way through the field following a grid drop in Sao Paulo.

Marko told Speedweek: “The pace was also not right because the engine problem meant that a different engine had to be installed, which had reached the end of its life and was actually no longer planned for racing.

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“That was one of the reasons why we were one of the slowest cars on the straights. When a Formula 1 engine has reached a certain number of kilometres, the loss of performance is clearly noticeable.

“We are currently investigating whether we could use the engine with the leak again. But here too, the number of kilometres means that it is no longer planned to be used.

“All of this means that we cannot avoid changing the engine in Brazil, with the corresponding penalty.”

Verstappen previously served a 10-place penalty in Belgium for taking an entirely new power unit.

While the full range of the penalty has not yet been confirmed, taking a new internal combustion engine should see Verstappen take a five-place grid drop.

Meanwhile, taking a new turbocharger, MGU-H or MGU-K component will trigger a further 10-place penalty. A full engine change would see the Dutchman start at the back of the grid.

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Any penalty will apply solely to Sunday’s feature race, meaning Verstappen will not be penalised during Saturday’s Sprint race.

Last weekend’s grand prix in Mexico saw Verstappen handed a 20-second time penalty for running Norris off track, while the week prior had seen Norris handed a five-second penalty in a similar situation.

Mercedes driver George Russell has said 19 out of the 20 drivers want the racing guidelines to be immediately clarified with a new wording following inconsistent application of the rules.

Meanwhile, the Sao Paulo circuit has been completely resurfaced for the race after a £22million investment.

Organisers have also confirmed the running of a special tribute event for Ayrton Senna 30 years on from his death, with Lewis Hamilton set to run a lap in the Brazilian’s 1990 McLaren car.