Verstappen Could Use New Engine at Monza

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen scored his maiden Belgian GP podium finish on Sunday. But now, it is business as usual for him as the F1 fraternity heads to Monza. The Dutchman spoke about the new Spec C Renault power unit.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing have the opportunity to use it for the first time this weekend. According to their estimates, this power unit can gain upto three tenths of a second per lap. However, on the reliability front, it is still a mystery.

Verstappen said, “We want as much performance as possible, but I am not expecting too much of that. We will see. That the Renault-team is not going to use that power unit themselves, says a lot in any case. But if that engine can really give three tenths of a second per lap, as they say, then I for sure would use it if I was Renault. Of course there are pro’s and cons, but we will find out now for ourselves.”

According to their strategy, Daniel Ricciardo will try out the engine on Friday. Once the assessment is finished, a decision will be made to give Max the same engine. However, Ricciardo will have to take a penalty for changing the engine. Meanwhile Verstappen still has one new power unit installed without any repercussions.

“We’ll see tomorrow how the engine is running with Daniel and also how well it performs. Or how bad. After that we’ll make a decision”, Verstappen said. “Judging how things look now, I won’t need to take a penalty, but it also depends on which engine we will be using this weekend. For now, things are looking good for us, but it takes only one problem to change that all around.”

In any case, the high speed circuit Monza, also known as ‘The temple of Speed’, remains a challenge for Red Bull Racing. Max: “This is for sure the hardest track for us, based on just horse power alone. We need to have a good set up for the car and then we’ll see.”