F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT

Mekies says Verstappen grid penalty remains uncertain

Red Bull avoided a penalty in Baku, but an assessment of Verstappen’s removed engine will shape whether he needs one later this season.

GPBeat · Newsroom28 Sept 2026, 07:35 · 2 min

Red Bull will replace faulty power-unit components on Max Verstappen’s car before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after an escalating engine problem hampered his run to eighth in qualifying. Team principal Laurent Mekies announced the plan in a team statement quoted by RacingNews365.

The replacement parts will come from Verstappen’s existing pool, so the change will not incur a grid penalty, RacingNews365 reports. Autosport also reports Verstappen saying that an engine change would not bring a penalty.

Engine fault behind battery trouble

Speaking to Autosport in the Baku paddock, Verstappen explained that the initial fault concerned the internal combustion engine rather than electrical deployment. He said it deteriorated throughout qualifying and was no longer working properly by Q3.

Verstappen estimated that the problem was costing him at least half a second compared with his team-mate from Q1, with the situation worsening in Q2 and Q3. That figure was his assessment of the performance loss, rather than his gap to pole position.

Mekies highlighted the loss of straight-line speed and the resulting difficulties with energy management and getting the tyres up to temperature. Verstappen’s explanation to Autosport added detail on those knock-on effects: he said his battery was not charging on his second Q3 lap because of the combustion-engine problem, while having to abandon a lap left his tyres below the required temperature for his final attempt.

Mekies characterised eighth place as damage limitation and said Verstappen and the team would fight to recover towards the podium in the race.

Update

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says it is too soon to know whether Max Verstappen will need a grid penalty later this season. The team is analysing the engine removed from Verstappen’s car after power-unit problems in Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying, including whether it can be used again.

Red Bull avoided a penalty in Baku by fitting components already in Verstappen’s power-unit allocation. Mekies said the engine assessment would determine whether the team could finish the season with his fourth engine.

Verstappen had expected a future penalty after qualifying, RacingNews365 English reports. Mekies is less certain: he says the answer depends on what the engine analysis finds.

Sources 03

SOURCERed Bull past auto Verstappen aan na problemenRacingNews365 Nederland · Source date as found: 2026-09-25
SOURCEVerstappen reveals why Red Bull's engine problem in Baku was different than it seemedAutosport · Source date as found: 2026-09-25
SOURCERed Bull strike different tone over potential Max Verstappen grid penaltyRacingNews365 English · Source date as found: 2026-09-28

Source context

RacingNews365 quotes Mekies from a Red Bull team statement; Autosport reports Verstappen’s comments in the Baku paddock.

RacingNews365 English, 28 September 2026, reports Mekies’s comments to media after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Claims and supporting evidence 11

Following Verstappen's eighth place in Baku qualifying, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the team would replace faulty power-unit components, according to RacingNews365, which quotes a team press release.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Red Bull's announced response to Verstappen's Azerbaijan GP qualifying problems 25 September 2026, after Azerbaijan GP qualifying and before the race This establishes an announced replacement, not a completed repair or replacement of the entire power unit. The release is quoted through RacingNews365.

[1]

RacingNews365 reports that the component replacement will not incur a grid penalty because Verstappen will use parts already in his pool. Autosport also attributes to Verstappen a statement that an engine change would not bring a grid penalty.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Grid-penalty implications of the reported component replacement Post-qualifying reporting on 25 September 2026 The no-penalty statement concerns this component change, not every possible reason for a grid penalty. Autosport's available subtitle preserves the conditional statement; its detailed engine-change section is truncated.

[1][2]

Verstappen told Autosport that the initial problem concerned the internal combustion engine rather than electrical deployment. He said the fault worsened until the combustion engine was no longer working properly in Q3.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Verstappen's explanation of the originating technical fault Azerbaijan GP qualifying on 25 September 2026 This is Verstappen's technical explanation. Neither supplied report identifies the failed component or provides a final engineering diagnosis.

[2]

Verstappen estimated that the engine problem was costing him at least half a second relative to his team-mate from Q1, and said it became worse in Q2 and Q3.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Verstappen's estimate of the performance cost Q1 through Q3 of Azerbaijan GP qualifying, 25 September 2026 The half-second figure is the driver's estimate of the problem's performance cost relative to his team-mate, not an official qualifying gap or a deficit to pole position.

[2]

According to RacingNews365's quotation of Mekies, the worsening power-unit problem reduced Verstappen's straight-line speed and complicated energy management and tyre-temperature preparation. Verstappen told Autosport that his battery failed to charge on his second Q3 lap as a consequence of the combustion-engine problem, and that aborting a lap left his tyres below the required temperature for the final attempt.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Reported effects on straight-line speed, energy management and tyre preparation Azerbaijan GP qualifying, particularly Q3, on 25 September 2026 Mekies and Verstappen give compatible accounts from within Red Bull. Their statements support the reported symptoms and explanation, rather than an independently established failure mechanism.

[1][2]

RacingNews365 adds the team's planned response through Mekies' press-release statements. Autosport adds Verstappen's explanation, obtained through paddock questioning, that an internal-combustion-engine fault preceded the electrical symptoms. These are complementary emphases on the same qualifying incident; the supplied article text does not establish a disagreement between the publications.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Comparison of the two supplied publications about the same incident Reports dated 25 September 2026 The comparison covers only the supplied RacingNews365 article and the available Autosport excerpt. The quoted origins differ—team release and driver questioning—but both accounts come from Red Bull participants, not independent technical examinations.

[1][2]

Team principal Laurent Mekies said the decision depends on analysis of the engine removed after Verstappen's Azerbaijan qualifying problems, including whether it can be used again. He did not confirm that a penalty will be required.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Red Bull's decision on a possible later grid penalty for Verstappen After the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix; reported 28 September 2026 Mekies described an assessment still in progress, not its result.

[3]

RacingNews365 reports that Red Bull avoided a penalty in Baku by using components already in Verstappen's power-unit pool. Mekies said whether the team can finish the season with his fourth engine depends on the analysis.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Penalty status at Baku and the remaining-season possibility 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the remainder of the 2026 season The account does not establish that the existing components will last to season's end.

[3]

RacingNews365 reports that Verstappen expected a future grid penalty after qualifying; Mekies subsequently declined to treat one as certain. The source links to an earlier Verstappen report, but that linked report was not supplied as a read document.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Different assessments attributed to Verstappen and Mekies After Azerbaijan qualifying and in the post-race reporting published 28 September 2026 Verstappen's statement is available here through RacingNews365's account, not a separately read original interview.

[3]

Mekies said Verstappen had two power-unit issues in qualifying. RacingNews365 reports that Verstappen finished second in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Baku qualifying problem and race result 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend The source does not specify the technical causes of the two issues; the race placing is reported by this single read publication.

[3]

Only the RacingNews365 English article was supplied and read. It reports Mekies's remarks as made to media including RacingNews365; there is no second read publication with which to compare reporting or establish independent confirmation.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Relationship between the available publications Source published 28 September 2026 This is a limit on cross-publication comparison, not a reason to discard the directly attributed remarks.

[3]

Corrections and updates to this story

28 Sept 2026, 07:35

Updated with a material new development verified through a separate News Made Clear newsroom run.

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.