McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has said it would be a “big mistake” to think Max Verstappen cannot win the Belgian Grand Prix despite his grid penalty.
Verstappen was fitted with his fifth internal combustion engine of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, dropping 10 places on the starting grid.
This means Verstappen will start Sunday’s grand prix no higher than 11th, at a time when McLaren have caught up with Red Bull in the pecking order.
The Dutchman made a strong start to the weekend at Spa, leading FP1 by more than half a second over his nearest competitor.
Speaking to Sky F1Brown sees Verstappen as a threat for victory despite his low starting position.
“It’s a tricky track in terms of how much downforce you want versus straight-line speed. Max in the second sector was pretty, pretty impressive,” said Brown.
“You have to assume that he’s on pole, which means P11 (on the starting grid). You can get through here, I think he went from 20th to ninth in two or three laps not long ago.
“It would be a big mistake to think that we can’t go from P11 to P1, but we have to take every opportunity we can.”
McLaren aims to fight for the title
McLaren currently sits just 51 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship as it seeks its first F1 title since 2008, while Lando Norris’ gap to Verstappen in the drivers’ standings is 76 points.
Brown said McLaren is looking to take advantage of Sergio Perez’s poor performances at Red Bull to catch up with the team, although he has not ruled out the possibility of a fight in the drivers’ championship.
“We want to get through the first half of the season and see where we end up this weekend,” Brown said.
“I think the constructors’ championship, although it will definitely not be easy, is within our reach.
“The challenge on the driver front is that Max’s bad days are second and third place.
“We can make those recoveries that we are doing in the constructors’ championship because Perez is having problems at the moment.
“We also know that it is capable of being activated at any time. I think that will be something we will discuss during the summer break.”
