Red Bull Racing has replaced four key power unit components for Max Verstappen ahead of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Verstappen demonstrated strong pace throughout practice around Baku, with the Dutchman featuring in the top three across all three sessions. However, that pace appeared to disappear when the grid headed into qualifying on Saturday.
The four-time World Champion struggled with power deployment issues throughout the session, unable to match the straight-line speed of his rivals. Verstappen ultimately qualified eighth, five-tenths behind his Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar.
Ahead of today’s race, Red Bull fitted Verstappen’s car with a new internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger (TC), exhaust system (EXH) and an additional power unit component (PU-ANC).
Crucially for Verstappen, all four replacements come from within his allocated pool of power unit elements. The changes do not trigger a grid penalty, allowing the Dutchman to start today’s race from eighth on the grid.
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