Max Verstappen cannot rule out taking an engine penalty at some stage during the closing rounds of the 2026 F1 season. Three rounds prior to this weekend's US GP in Austin, Verstappen took new power unit components after issues in Baku Qualifying, but warned a future grid penalty was inevitable.

Since the Azerbaijan GP, Verstappen has been in scintillating form, haven taken two consecutive victories at the following Grands Prix in Malaysia and Singapore. The Dutchman now sits P4 in the Drivers' standings, just eight points behind long-time rival Lewis Hamilton, while Red Bull sit just seven points behind McLaren in third in the Constructors'.

So far this season, Verstappen has avoided any power-unit related penalties, but his Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar has not been so fortunate. The Frenchman saw a five-place grid drop in Malaysia followed up with a start at the back of the grid in Singapore over turbocharger, exhaust, ICE and PU-ANC changes beyond the allocated limits.

During Hadjar's three-race absence due to a wrist injury, stand-in Liam Lawson started at the back of the grid at Monza, which in fact dipped into Hadjar's allocation.

Verstappen addresses engine penalty fears

Photo: Race Pictures

Verstappen, meanwhile, is right on the edge of his power unit limits. The four-time world champion is on his final set of the ICE, turbocharger, MGU-K, energy store, control electronics, and the exhaust systems. The Dutchman has also used five of his six PU-ANC parts.

Speaking on Thursday, Verstappen addressed the possibility of an engine penalty at some stage in the coming rounds, but could not pinpoint when exactly it would be incurred.

Verstappen said: "We have to take a penalty at one point? Yeah, potentially. But there's no known date to that at the moment. So we just see what happens."

Verstappen reveals spine damage in 'unacceptable' outburst on bumpy F1 tracks

Elsewhere, Verstappen heavily criticised the track surface at COTA, and revealed some spinal damage he believes he has suffered as a result of years' worth of driving at bumpy circuits.

He said: "Last year, for example, you pull around 5-6G in a corner, but I had some impacts, vertical load, which was over 9G on my spine, which I can tell you is really not fun, and especially the older you get, you think about that more and more."