Max Verstappen’s performance in the São Paulo Grand Prix has led to discussion in the paddock about how Red Bull handle power unit penalties. After he and Yuki Tsunoda were both knocked out in Q1, Red Bull chose to fit a new power unit to Verstappen’s car. This meant he started from the pit lane, but the choice proved effective. Even after picking up a puncture early in the race, Verstappen worked his way through the field and finished in third place, earning Driver of the Day.

The decision has caught the attention of McLaren. Team principal Andrea Stella questioned the reasoning behind changing the engine and whether the cost of this unit should fall under Formula One’s financial regulations. Speaking to media, Stella explained that McLaren would not normally change an engine purely for performance reasons, because of the effect it would have on the cost cap.

He, quoted by Motorsport Week, said: “In general, these engines do not exhibit much degradation with mileage. So normally you would not change an engine and accept a penalty, because the performance you get back does not really compensate for the positional losses.”

Stella then raised the key point that has created debate among other teams. “If the engine was changed for performance reasons, it should go in the cost cap,” he said. He added that he cannot see Red Bull’s internal figures, but believes clarity would help ensure fairness, saying this is “one reason why we would not do it, because it would end up in the cost cap.”

Red Bull have defended their approach. Team Principal Laurent Mekies also spoke to media after the race and explained that the team could have completed the season without changing the engine, but decided the opportunity at Interlagos was worth taking. He said, “It is always good to fit a new engine,” and noted that the performance margins are very small in Formula One. “The gaps are small enough for everything to be important,” he said.