Max Verstappen set to start Monza from the back

Max Verstappen has backed himself to overtake most of the field should he start the Italian Grand Prix from the back of the grid. Red Bull and Honda are yet to confirm if he will indeed run the Spec 4 engine at Monza, but team boss Christian Horner said an engine change and grid penalty for Verstappen is likely. “Most likely,” Horner told Motorsport.com. “We’ll make that decision during the week. But most likely we’ll discuss with Honda and see what their thoughts are. I think it’s encouraging from what we saw on Friday, the data we got from Kvyat running the new engine, that progress is definitely being made and delivering what is expected.” Verstappen feels he can make up ground. “I think it can be alright to overtake,” Verstappen added. “Nothing is confirmed yet about an engine penalty, but even if you start from the back I don’t think it’s a big deal. We all know Ferrari is going to be really quick there, and if you start from the back you probably won’t catch the top four. Everything behind that I think it’s possible to catch up with.”

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