Max Verstappen’s title challenge has been dealt a blow after the engine he was using during the now infamous crash with Lewis Hamilton was consigned to history by the manufacturers Honda. Each F1 driver is only permitted three engines per season, with Verstappen having already used his allotted amount.
The news broke on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, with Andrew Benson reporting that not only was Verstappen’s engine from Silverstone unfixable, but also that of his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who was shunted off the track at the following Hungarian Grand Prix after an error by Valtteri Bottas.
Benson, BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer, said: “Honda has confirmed that both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have lost the second of their three engines as a result of irreparable damage.
“Verstappen’s from the Hamilton crash at Silverstone and Perez from first corner in Hungary. Grid penalties down the line seem likely.”
Honda initially realised that Verstappen’s second engine was badly damaged during routine checks after qualifying at the Hungaroring. On that occasion, the Dutchman did not face punishment for the change of power unit.
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Christian Horner, the team principal, will now be thinking about the best time to incur the grid penalties the team will face unless they can improbably manage with just one engine for the rest of the year.
The team’s chief advisor Helmut Marko has spoken about when they would likely accept that punishment.
Marko did not rule out the prospect of doing so at the Belgian Grand Prix, the first race back from the summer break.
Marko noted to F1-Insider.com in early August that the nature of the track at Spa-Francorchamps and the way in which it made overtaking easier than other courses meant that “you have to at least think about it”.
First practice for the Belgian Grand Prix gets underway on Friday morning.
Hamilton currently has an eight-point lead over Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
Verstappen is expected to enjoy huge levels of support at the event in Belgium, before heading to his home Grand Prix in the Netherlands the following week.
F1 is returning to the Netherlands for the first time since 1985 – a year later than scheduled, with the original comeback postponed as a result of Covid in 2020.