Following Sir Lewis Hamilton’s retirement at the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend, it is entirely possible that the Silver Arrows may take a penalty at some stage.
The seven-time champion had just put his third internal combustion engine (ICE) in the car in Belgium, which was final allocated one.
He is now on the limit on ICEs, turbo chargers (TC), both motor generator units (MGU), energy stores (ES) and control electronics (CE).
He and team-mate George Russell both have five exhausts remaining in their current pool of parts, while the 24-year-old still has room for another MGU-K before he receives a penalty.
READ: Did Lewis Hamilton deserve a penalty in Belgium?
Despite the new installations, the Silver Arrows were significantly off the pace of Red Bull in Spa last weekend, with Hamilton qualifying seventh, 1.8 seconds behind Verstappen.
Russell was a further position and three tenths of a second behind the 37-year-old.
The pair were bumped up by penalties picked up by Verstappen, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
It meant that Hamilton started fourth behind the other Alpine of Fernando Alonso, and he passed the Spaniard to move into the podium places on the opening lap.
Later in lap one though, Alonso got back down the inside heading into Les Combes but, unsighted, Hamilton turned into the apex and hit the 41-year-old.
READ: Lewis Hamilton ‘grateful to still be alive’ after almost ‘breaking his back’
The contact sent Hamilton’s Mercedes up into the air, and he came down to earth with a thud, damaging the back end.
He was forced to retire as a result, so he gets a free gearbox change for this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, and it is possible that other components may also have taken a whack.
If the Briton does have to take a penalty, Mercedes would prefer to get him through the next race in Zandvoort with the engine he is currently on, and then take the grid drop in Monza, where it is much easier to overtake.