“I don't think you can count him out": Max Verstappen viewed as a threat by McLaren driver despite grid penalty

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri claimed that he was weary of the threat posed by Max Verstappen and did not 'count him out' for a win at the Belgian GP on Sunday despite the latter having a 10-place grid penalty. The Red Bull driver will take the penalty as he and the team decided to take an extra Internal Combustion Engine for the weekend from their allotted four for the season.

The Dutch driver had previously taken the same penalty in the past two editions of the race as well and won on both occasions, starting from P14 and P6 in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

As per Speedcafe, Oscar Piastri mentioned that he was aware of Max Verstappen's capabilities around the iconic Spa-Francorchamps track, given that he has won the last three editions. He said after the FP2 session:

“It's better than if he were starting at the front. I don't think you can count him out. It's a track they've been very quick at in the last couple of years."

"They look quick this weekend again, so I'm expecting him to make progress through the field. But having a little bit of a head start, hopefully, will definitely help,” he added.

Max Verstappen analyzes the RB20's performance after the FP2 session

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated that it was a 'tricky' practice session for him at the Belgian GP as he finished P1 and P3 in the FP1 and FP2, respectively. Given the track layout, the drivers had to gamble on the rear wing levels to manage the downforce and drag effectively.

Speaking with F1.com, the 26-year-old referenced the difficulty in finding the balance and said:

“We tried quite a few things because it’s typically Spa where you have sector one and sector three where you want the top speed but it’s still a very long middle sector where you want cornering speed and it’s still very tricky to find the right balance."

“So, we are trying a few things to see what is better and we’ll look at it of course now in the data and analyze. We started out quite positive today, the second practice was perhaps not quite as good. We have a few things to look at, you know, with all the changes we made as well and hopefully, we can put it all together for the race."

Qualifying for the Belgian GP on Saturday could be pivotal, as it is predicted to be held in mixed-weather conditions as compared to the main race on Sunday which is expected to be dry.

Max Verstappen will start the race outside the Top 10 regardless of how well he qualifies on Saturday.