- Red Bull penalised for taking a new power unit for race in Sochi
- Hamilton will expect to regain drivers’ championship lead
Max Verstappen will start the Russian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after taking a new power unit before the race. The decision by his Red Bull team leaves Lewis Hamilton in the best possible position to retake the lead of the Formula One world championship at the Sochi Autodrom.
Verstappen was already set to take a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision when he hit Hamilton at the last round in Monza. His team have decided that given they were going to have to take a new power unit at some point, absorbing the hit in Russia, a circuit where they expected Mercedes to be on top, was their best option.