Marko expects Verstappen grid penalty: Engine might not be salvagable

Red Bull's Helmut Marko believes that Max Verstappen is likely to take a grid penalty at an upcoming race, having had to take his third power unit ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

While the engine that was involved in the hefty Silverstone smash two weeks ago initially got the green light earlier this weekend, Verstappen has had to take a new engine as a result of Honda finding cracks between the gearbox and the engine. As a result, Verstappen has taken his third, and final, permitted engine of the season.

"The engine was no longer deployable and we still have to investigate whether it can still be saved," Marko told ServusTV ahead of the race in Budapest.

"At the moment we have to assume that we have to deploy a fourth engine, which means that we will face a grid penalty. The damage is the result of the crash at Silverstone."

If Verstappen does need to take a fourth engine, which is likely given there are still thirteen races to go at the time of writing, he will take a grid penalty at that race.