Overview
- After a Q1 exit at Interlagos, Red Bull took Verstappen out of parc fermé, revised the car and installed a fresh Honda power unit, triggering a pit-lane start.
- The change added an extra ICE, turbo, MGU-K, MGU-H, battery and control electronics beyond the season allowance, and Verstappen recovered to finish third.
- Team principal Laurent Mekies said the decision was taken for performance opportunity rather than reliability necessity.
- McLaren boss Andrea Stella asked the FIA to confirm whether such performance-driven swaps must be accounted for within the cap, stating McLaren would not do this because of expected cost implications.
- Published regulations do not explicitly cover this scenario; media have sought clarification from the FIA and Red Bull, and no formal ruling has been made public yet.