Startling admission from Max Verstappen as the Dutch driver shares major handicap heading into the last 5 F1 races of the season

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen confirmed that he would be taking another power unit before the end of the current season. The three-time world champion was handed a 10-place grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix earlier in the year after he took a new power unit for the race outside of the allotted pool.

The Dutch driver experienced further power unit issues on Friday at the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix where he could only manage four laps throughout the two practice sessions.

As per RacingNews365, Max Verstappen mentioned that he was expecting another penalty coming his way in the remaining five races but wasn't sure of the Grand Prix he would be taking it at, saying:

"I think there will be another penalty, yes. Depends. We'll have to see how long we can last [with the current pool]."

Taking another new engine for the season could prove to be a hindrance for the Red Bull driver in his title defense against McLaren driver Lando Norris despite him leading the championship by 57 points.

During his post-qualifying press conference, the 27-year-old also shed light on being in the "unknown" for the main race.

"Yeah, it is. I don't expect miracles. I think in Austin, yeah, Ferrari was really, really fast. Of course, maybe that week McLaren was not as strong, but then in the race, I think they were still competitive. So from my side, yeah, I don't know. I guess we'll find out tomorrow," Max Verstappen said.

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Max Verstappen analyzes his front-row start for the Mexican GP

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated he pulled off his lap in Q3 on Saturday after digging deep into the data ahead of the qualifying session.

He told the media:

"I barely did any laps, so I think it could only go better, really. So, yeah, we were massively on the back foot. So far, of course, it's been quite a terrible weekend in that sense."

"But, yeah, to be on the front row with the difficulties that we had, I think, showed that we stayed calm and just tried to look into the data, you know, to try and understand the car a bit more and try to just be a little bit more competitive."

Verstappen also mentioned that he isn't too worried about the race start despite starting from P2 as he believes that "anything can happen" off the line. He will start the main race ahead of his championship rival Lando Norris on the grid and will look to extend his championship lead for the second weekend in a row.

The Dutchman has already won five times at the Mexico City track previously and will hope to make it four in a row on Sunday.