FIA confirm engine penalty for Max Verstappen as Red Bull give Sergio Perez new chassis

The FIA have confirmed Max Verstappen will take a five-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix after taking a new ICE engine component.

The idea was suggested earlier in the week, with Helmut Marko confirming it’s likely to happen in Brazil this weekend.

It means Verstappen won’t start any higher than sixth on the grid for Sunday’s grand prix at Interlagos.

His sprint qualifying result will be unaffected.

The good news for Verstappen is that it’s only a five-place grid penalty.

It’s his sixth ICE component of the year - he took his fifth at Spa, which resulted in a 10-place grid penalty.

In the FIA press conference on Thursday in Sao Paulo, Verstappen admitted an engine penalty was inevitable heading into the final stretch of the campaign.

He said: “I haven't heard anything yet. It's not discussed, but I know that I will have to take one at some point. So we'll see.”

On the other side of the garage, Red Bull have changed Sergio Perez’s chassis.

Perez endured a nightmare weekend in Mexico City.

He was knocked out in Q1 before finishing 17th (last) on home soil.

As quoted by The Race, chief engineer Paul Monaghan confirmed Perez will use a different chassis.

He said: “We've changed him back into a different chassis. He asked if we can: yeah, fine, OK.

“The boys got a bit of work but they didn't mind so there we go.”

Perez will also run a slightly different floor to Verstappen.

“Checo is on a different edge specification from Max,” Monaghan added.

“If you look at the edge wing itself it's subtly different. It's a small difference.

“The magnitude is, I would argue, small enough that it's not going to cause him to have a significant difference to Max.

“We've done it like that purely and simply because it's the best way to service two cars and ensure that we can service them fairly with spares.”