Max Verstappen breaks silence after being hit with F1 grid penalty at Brazilian Grand Prix

has confirmed that will need to take a new power unit before the end of the season after 's comments ahead of the .

The Dutchman suffered a power unit failure in Canada earlier this year setting him on the back foot over the course of the season, and after a string of minor engine issues during practice in Mexico last weekend, Red Bull have been .

"I haven't heard anything yet," Verstappen explained ahead of the Brazilian GP. "It is not discussed, but I know that I will have to take one at some point, so we'll see."

While Verstappen stopped short of confirming that Red Bull will be taking his new component - and therefore a five-place grid penalty - in Interlagos, Marko confirmed as much in his column.

"We had the fifth-fastest car behind the two Ferraris and the McLaren [in Mexico]," he explained. "On the medium Pirelli tyres we were still halfway there, but with both compounds, the tyre wear was worse than that of our competitors.

"The pace was also not good because, due to the aforementioned engine problem, a different power unit had to be fitted that had reached the end of its cycle and was not actually planned for racing at all.

"That was one of the reasons why we were one of the slowest cars on the straights. When a Formula One engine has reached a certain number of kilometres the loss of power is clearly noticeable. We are currently investigating whether we could use the engine with the leak again.

"But here too, the number of kilometres means that it is no longer planned to be used. All of this means that we cannot avoid changing the engine in Brazil, with the corresponding penalty."

This development gives Verstappen an even more daunting task as he continues his damage limitation assignment. With Lando Norris now 47 points behind heading into a sprint weekend, the Brazilian GP could be a key flashpoint in the season.