Max Verstappen confirms upcoming F1 grid penalty

Max Verstappen has confirmed that he is due to take a grid penalty at some point during the 2026 F1 season.

The Dutchman's comments came after he endured a difficult qualifying session in Baku, where he finished eighth in the order.

Verstappen was heard complaining about the behaviour of the car over the team radio and explained after the session that he had an issue with his engine.

Red Bull is due to carry out a change of the components it labelled “faulty” ahead of Sunday's race, which will not incur a grid drop if they are from the pool of elements that have already been used this year.

However, Verstappen is not expecting to go the rest of the year without having to go outside of the penalty-free allocation.

“A penalty is bound to come at some point,” Verstappen told select media including RacingNews365. “That was always clear.”

When asked why it wasn't done for Baku, Verstappen stated: “The problem on the straight is that everyone goes from a full battery to completely empty. 

“You can’t use the battery. Going from 100 to zero is the same for everyone.”

Verstappen expands on engine frustrations

Verstappen's P8 result is among the worst that he has suffered this year.

While he had issues with his car on Friday, his result was also hindered by a yellow flag, which forced him to abort his final effort.

However, his primary frustrations related to the car itself, as he explained: “You’re so slow on the straights. 

“Because of that, you use up more battery power coming out of the turns to try to compensate. 

“On other sections, you go into the superclip, very aggressively. Everything was out of whack, it just wasn’t working anymore.

“You spend more time on the straight because you’re going slower, and that naturally causes you to use more power. 

“It’s the same with Honda, they clip more than anyone else, too. You spend more time at full throttle."