F1 News
Marko on Verstappen engine change: "Thank God overtaking is possible in Sochi".
- GPblog.com
Sometime during the next races, Max Verstappen will have to use a fourth engine, which will give him a big grid penalty. Drivers are allowed to use three engines per season. With the fourth engine, the driver will start from the back. Whether the Dutchman will change his engine in Russia remains to be seen.
Wait and see, then decide
Verstappen will not start at the front anyway, as the Dutchman also has a grid penalty of three spots for his crash with Hamilton at Monza. Sochi seems to be the perfect opportunity for Red Bull to change the engine. In an interview with RTL/ntv Marko discusses the considerations of whether or not to go for an engine change in Sochi.
"We have to replace the engine sometime in the next races because of the damage in Silverstone," the Red Bull advisor explained. "That doesn't necessarily have to happen in Sochi - but it could." Marko says the team will first wait and see how things go in Russia. "We wait for qualifying, we wait for the weather conditions - and then we will decide."
Overtaking possible
"The engine change could be possible if the overall picture of overtaking and such gives us a chance of points if we start at the very back," the 78-year-old Austrian continued. "But thank God overtaking is possible in Sochi. We will see how the speed will be compared to Mercedes and then the strategy from our side will be based on that."
The fact that the track in Sochi has been primarily a Mercedes track in recent years does not really play a role this season, according to Marko. "That is no longer relevant because we have made up a lot of ground this year and have been competitive at almost all tracks."