Sky F1 pundit delivers warning to rivals as Max Verstappen faces Spa grid drop

While Max Verstappen looks set to drop five places on the Belgian GP grid, Sky F1’s Martin Brundle says the perception, including for Verstappen himself, is that he can win from any position.

Verstappen is now on a run of seven victories in succession after his latest triumph in Hungary, that also proving to be Red Bull’s 12th win on the trot, breaking a McLaren record which had stood since 1988.

And if rivals were to look for any track where they could perhaps have a shot at ending the Verstappen dominance, Spa-Francorchamps would very unlikely be it, Verstappen having won comfortably from P14 on the grid here last year.

Martin Brundle senses Max Verstappen Spa win inevitable

Verstappen’s rather distant pursuers look set to receive a boost for the 2023 staging of the Belgian GP, with it widely believed that Verstappen will be given a new gearbox, triggering a five-place grid drop.

Brundle said it is “interesting” that Red Bull are set to give Verstappen a new gearbox at Spa, considering the Dutchman has been heard complaining of gear shifting issues on several occasions so far in F1 2023.

Nonetheless, he does not expect the damage of this impending penalty to make Verstappen suffer much at all.

“He takes a five-place grid drop here on Sunday for a fresh gearbox,” said Brundle to Sky F1.

“All season long, we’ve heard them talking about shift problems, certainly earlier on in the season as well, so interesting that as we just move into the second half the season, they’re taking another gearbox and taking a gearbox penalty.

“But you sense that Max can and that Max thinks he can win from anywhere on the grid.”

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With Verstappen marching towards his third World Championship in a row, it looks like we are firmly in the Max Verstappen era as he carves out a fresh period of F1 dominance, following on from the likes of Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel with Red Bull and Michael Schumacher with Ferrari before him.

Brundle then would explain how all of these examples are actually “very similar”.

“I think it’s very similar in terms of a driver, a car and a team working absolutely as one in a very happy place,” he suggested.

Verstappen takes a 110-point lead over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez at the top of the Drivers’ standings into the Belgian GP.

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