FIA announce Max Verstappen engine change at Bahrain Grand Prix

FIA announce Max Verstappen engine change at Bahrain Grand Prix along with…. read more

The FIA has officially confirmed that Max Verstappen, along with Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar, and Liam Lawson, will be racing with updated engine components at the Bahrain Grand Prix. According to a technical report from the Bahrain round, all four drivers’ cars have been fitted with new energy stores and control electronics ahead of the race weekend.

This marks the first change of the energy store (ES) and control electronics (CE) for each of the four drivers this season. Under current FIA regulations, each driver is permitted to use two of these components across the season without facing any grid penalties. Therefore, these changes are within the legal limit and will not affect any of the drivers’ positions or results during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.

For Verstappen, the reigning world champion, these updates are crucial for maintaining peak performance and reliability throughout the demanding early stages of the season. The same applies to Tsunoda, who drives for the RB team, as well as Hadjar and Lawson, who are affiliated with the Racing Bulls. Although these updates are strategic and within the rules, all four drivers must now be cautious, as any further changes to these components could lead to grid penalties later in the year.

In Formula 1, power units are complex machines composed of multiple components. These include the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Turbocharger, Motor Generator Unit–Kinetic (MGU-K), Motor Generator Unit–Heat (MGU-H), Control Electronics (CE), Energy Store (ES), and Exhaust system. Each component is closely monitored and sealed by the FIA to prevent unauthorized repairs or replacements.

Over time, these components naturally degrade due to intense usage—especially during qualifying sessions, where engine modes are pushed to their highest levels to extract maximum performance. As such, the FIA allows a limited number of changes per season for each component type. For instance, drivers are allowed three ICE, turbocharger, and exhaust system changes, two MGU-K swaps, and only two changes each for the ES and CE.

Staying within these limits is a key part of race strategy, as exceeding the permitted number of changes for any component triggers penalties, usually in the form of grid drops. For now, Verstappen, Tsunoda, Hadjar, and Lawson are all in the clear, but their teams will be carefully managing their engine usage across the rest of the season to avoid any further changes that could risk penalties.

These component changes are a routine but vital part of modern F1, helping teams maintain reliability without sacrificing performance in a tightly regulated

environment.