Max Verstappen will be handed a 10-place grid penalty at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix after Red Bull decided to take the punishment ahead of fitting a new internal combustion engine, according to reports.
The reigning Formula One world champion has also been told by the leading garage that he will no longer be allowed to stay up late playing video games the night before a race as he did on the eve of Hungarian GP that saw him crash into Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen is currently going through a difficult spell in the season despite leading the world championship race and is now three races without a victory heading into Sunday’s Spa-Francorchamps showdown.
He faces an uphill battle to end that streak on his favoured Belgium circuit after the FIA imposed a starting grid penalty on the Red Bull ace due to the installation of another engine, as reported by The Times.
The championship winning garage has already used four internal combustion engines this season and the installation of a fifth means a starting penalty must be taken.
Max Verstappen will be handed a 10-place grid penalty at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix
Verstappen has also been told by the leading garage that he will no longer be allowed to stay up late playing video games the night before a race
The reigning Formula One world champion is now winless in three races heading into the weekend
That means Verstappen can start a best position of 10th on the grid with the penalty meaning he will start 10 positions back from wherever he finishes in Saturday’s qualifying session.
Verstappen currently maintains a 76-point lead at the top of the drivers championship heading into the Belgian GP and has reigned victorious on his last three trips to the track.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old has also been told he can’t stay up playing on his video game simulator into the early hours the night before a race, as was the case in Budapest.
Verstappen was up until 3am on Sunday morning playing Sim racing, a popular racing simulation game and endured a nightmare afternoon at the Hungaroring.
His fifth-place finish came after he was involved in a collision with Lewis Hamilton, with Verstappen appearing furious with his team and the race stewards throughout the 70 laps.
Verstappen currently maintains a 76-point lead at the top of the drivers championship heading into the Belgian GP
The 26-year-old regularly plays sim racing late into the evening as he did before the Hungary GP
Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s senior adviser, revealed that discussions have been held with the star telling him he can no longer take part in late-night gaming sessions.
‘Max Verstappen was rather thin-skinned this weekend, and of course it didn’t take long for criticism to arise — no wonder, since he spends half the night playing sim racing,’ he said in his column for Speedweek.
‘I have to say that in Imola he didn’t go to bed until three in the morning after a sim-racing session — and then won the grand prix. Max has a different sleep pattern, and he had his seven hours of sleep.
‘His late-night sim appearance on the Hungary weekend only came about because a driver in his team had dropped out. Nevertheless we agreed that he would no longer run simulations so late in the future.’