- The team has reportedly warned the Red Bull star about his games.
- Max Verstappen stayed up late playing online the night before the Hungarian GP
- Verstappen will also receive a 10-place grid penalty for the Belgian GP.
Max Verstappen will receive a 10-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix after Red Bull decided to accept the punishment before installing a new internal combustion engine, according to reports.
The reigning Formula One world champion has also been told by the team leadership that he will no longer be allowed to stay up late playing video games the night before a race as he did on the eve of the Hungarian GP where he collided with Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen is currently enduring a tough time of the season despite leading the world championship race and is now three races without a win heading into Sunday’s showdown at Spa-Francorchamps.
He faces an uphill battle to end that streak at his favourite circuit in Belgium after the FIA handed the Red Bull ace a grid penalty for installing another engine, it was reported. The times.
The champions have already used four internal combustion engines this season and the installation of a fifth means a start penalty must be applied.
Max Verstappen will receive a 10-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix
Verstappen has also been told by the leaders’ garage that he will no longer be allowed to stay up late playing video games the night before a race.
The reigning Formula One world champion is winless in three races heading into the weekend
That means Verstappen can start 10th on the grid at his best, with the penalty meaning he will start 10 places behind where he finished in Saturday’s qualifying session.
Verstappen currently holds a 76-point lead at the top of the drivers’ championship heading into the Belgian GP and has reigned victorious in his last three outings at the track.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old has also been told he cannot stay up playing his video game simulator until the early hours of the night before a race, as was the case in Budapest.
Verstappen was up until 3am on Sunday playing Sim Racing, a popular racing simulation game, and spent a nightmare afternoon at the Hungaroring.
His fifth-place finish came after he was involved in a collision with Lewis Hamilton, with Verstappen furious with his team and race stewards throughout the 70-lap race.
Verstappen currently holds a 76-point lead at the top of the drivers’ championship heading into the Belgian GP.
The 26-year-old regularly plays sim racing late into the night, as he did before the Hungarian GP.
Red Bull senior adviser Helmut Marko has revealed that talks have been held with the star to tell him he can no longer take part in late-night gaming sessions.
“Max Verstappen was pretty touchy this weekend and of course the criticism was quick to come, which is no surprise as he spends half the night playing sim races,” he said in his column for Speedweek.
“I have to say that in Imola he didn’t go to bed until three in the morning after a racing simulation session, and then he won the Grand Prix. Max has a different sleeping pattern and he slept seven hours.
“His appearance in the night simulator at the weekend in Hungary was due to a driver from his team having retired. However, we agreed that he would not be running simulations this late in the future.”