Max Verstappen has explained why he will not be switching engines for the final two races of the season.
Max Verstappen claims he has no plans to install a new engine in his vehicle for the remaining two races of the season, referring to the fact that Honda’s engine lacks the same “peak” performance as Mercedes’.
Honda was said to be working on a new “super-engine” to help Verstappen’s title bid ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but Red Bull immediately put those rumors to rest.
It occurred after Mercedes introduced their own “spicy engine” in Lewis Hamilton’s car at the Brazilian Grand Prix, with the unit likely to make another appearance this weekend at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Despite all of the talk, Verstappen claims that he is pleased with his current engine lineup, which he changed six races ago at the Russian Grand Prix.
“We don’t have a peak like Mercedes”
Verstappen highlighted that, while Mercedes engines provide an initial performance boost before dropping off over time, Honda engines are more consistent, as Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has previously stated.
“We don’t have a [performance] peak like Mercedes,” Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365.com, when discussing the prospect of a tactical engine change that would result in a five-place grid penalty.
“Our engine is fairly consistent throughout its life, so that wouldn’t help us very much.”
As for reliability, and a change being forced upon him, he said: “At least there are no question marks from my side. I know what I have in terms of engines and normally we should be able to do it with that.”
Verstappen leads Hamilton by eight points in the title race and can win the championship in Jeddah if he extends his lead to 26 points before the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
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