Max Verstappen to incur grid penalty at Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Championship leader Max Verstappen is set to incur a five-place grid penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. This penalty stems from his Red Bull team installing a new internal combustion engine, which exceeded Verstappen’s permitted allocation for the current year. Consequently, the highest starting position Verstappen can achieve for Sunday’s race is sixth. During Friday’s practice session, he recorded the 15th fastest time. Entering the weekend, Verstappen holds a 47-point lead over his title competitor, Lando Norris from McLaren. The event schedule also includes a sprint race on Saturday. Norris concluded the practice session as the fastest driver, narrowly surpassing George Russell of Mercedes by 0.181 seconds with his concluding lap. Oliver Bearman, who is stepping in for Kevin Magnussen in the Haas for the sprint race following the Dane’s illness, contributed to a British top three in the practice session. Oscar Piastri of McLaren finished fourth fastest, followed by Williams driver Alex Albon, and then the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The top 10 was rounded out by Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), and Pierre Gasly (Alpine). Lewis Hamilton, driving for Mercedes, placed 16th, similar to Verstappen, by not completing a lap on the soft tyre. Verstappen initiated a soft-tyre run late in the session but aborted it prematurely. He had been approximately 0.1 seconds behind Russell’s pace before easing off exiting the final corner. Hamilton opted not to use the soft tyres at all, choosing to conserve them for the rest of the weekend.