Red Bull’s Max Verstappen put in an otherworldly charge through the field in Brazil to finish third in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday. The team gave him a new engine after a poor qualifying session, where he couldn’t advance out of Q1.
The change meant the Dutchman had to start from the pit lane, but it didn’t matter, as he still managed to put the car on the podium in P3. However, McLaren raised questions regarding the engine change.
McLaren Demands Answers for Red Bull’s Engine Swap in Max Verstappen’s Car
The constructors’ champions went to the FIA for answers on how Red Bull’s move will impact its F1 cost cap.
The Austrian team had a poor qualifying session on Saturday, with neither of its cars advancing past the first round.
In response, they brought about significant changes to Verstappen’s car, which included a new Honda power unit.
The controversy around the situation centers on what the FIA’s guidelines say about engine changes in relation to the cost cap, which isn’t covered in the published regulations.
👀 McLaren is seeking answers from the FIA about whether Max Verstappen’s fresh engine swap at the Brazilian Grand Prix will come out of Red Bull’s #F1 cost cap allocation.
Full story: https://t.co/kVks7v26UThttps://t.co/kVks7v26UT
— The Race (@wearetherace) November 10, 2025
Some teams reportedly believe that if a team swaps out a power unit for reliability concerns, it shouldn’t count against the team’s cost cap. However, if the swap is made solely for performance reasons, it should be counted against the cap.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella said he’d like to know about the cost cap implications surrounding Red Bull’s bold move in Sao Paulo.
“To be honest, these kind of power unit changes, they challenge the regulations,” McLaren’s team principal said. “I will be interested in understanding if the cost of this engine now goes in the cost cap or not. If the engine was changed for performance reasons, it should go in the cost cap. So let’s see if this is the case, not that I will be able to see, as it’s all on the Red Bull side. But this is also one reason why we wouldn’t do it, because it would end up in the cost cap.”
The FIA’s clarification on the matter could significantly impact how teams approach the cost cap regarding engine changes. With only three races left, the finest margins come into play as we decide a drivers’ champion for 2025.
Lando Norris leads ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and Verstappen in second and third, respectively.