Red Bull Racing has replaced Max Verstappen’s engine ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix. The change, implemented before the third free practice session, came after troublesome engine sounds during earlier practice sessions. Fortunately for the three-time F1 champion, the team was able to use an engine already in his season’s pool, avoiding any grid penalties for the coming race.
These challenges began in the first practice session, where Verstappen reported an unusual and disturbing noise emanating from the Honda power unit. Despite efforts to diagnose and resolve the issue after FP1, the noise persisted. The problems spilt over into the second practice session, which was primarily dedicated to testing Pirelli’s 2025 prototype tire compounds. Verstappen’s participation was significantly hampered, resulting in only four laps, minimizing valuable setup work. Consequently, much of the day’s practice was deemed “useless” by Verstappen, as the laps he completed were run with limited power.
Whilst speaking to the media after the first day of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, the Red Bull driver explained:
“From the engine side we are checking and I don’t know exactly what it is.
“But from my side, a pretty much useless day. Did like four or five [representative] laps, so that is not much to read into at the moment.
“I cannot tell you [how the car feels]. I mean I never really had a good run, only four or five laps in total.
“And that’s even with some long run laps in it, so a day to forget.”
If a new engine becomes a necessity, Red Bull might opt to implement this change for the Brazilian Grand Prix, where the track’s overtaking opportunities could mitigate the impact of a grid penalty that comes with such a change.
Verstappen now has the final 60 minute practice session to prepare for Qualifying in a few hours time.
This comes as the Drivers’ Championship intensifies. The reigning champion is 57 points ahead of McLaren driver Lando Norris. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is running in third with a 22-point gap to Norris.
