Prior to the Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen received a new teammate in Alexander Albon after Pierre Gasly was demoted back to Toro Rosso. In the race, Verstappen had a poor start and collided with Kimi Räikkönen at the first corner, resulting in suspension damage and causing Verstappen's first retirement of the season. In Italy, he did not set a time during qualifying after his car lost power in Q1, but he was already required to start from the back of the grid anyway due to an engine component penalty. After damaging his front wing on the first lap, he recovered to finish the race in 8th place. 3rd and 4th place finishes followed in Singapore and Russia respectively. After suffering damage in a first-lap collision with Charles Leclerc in Japan, Verstappen suffered his 2nd retirement of the season.