Max Verstappen believes that title rival Lewis Hamilton will need a fourth engine, resulting in a grid penalty. However, the Dutch driver isn't working on the assumption that it will happen this weekend in Istanbul. Having taken his own fourth engine and grid penalty last time out in Russia, Verstappen now has a theoretical advantage in the championship as a grid penalty for Hamilton could lead to a big swing in the title chase. "I think they still have to take one engine, so it's up to them what they will do with it," Verstappen told the Formula 1 Weekend Warm-Up. "We did it last race and we'll find out when they take it," he continued, saying that it might not necessarily be this weekend, despite the rumours suggesting otherwise, "but it's up to Mercedes to see what exactly they will do with it." Having salvaged a second-place finish at the Sochi Autodrom after starting from the very back, this shifts the pressure onto Mercedes to respond similarly strongly when they do take their engine penalty. "Second place was a really good result for us in Russia, now we are looking ahead," Verstappen said. "It's a bit of a question mark [in Turkey] because of last year not being really representative, so I hope the grip levels will be a lot better than last year. We'll find out through practice how competitive we're going to be."
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