Verstappen sent to back of Sao Paulo grid as Ferrari pair receive penalties

Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, while Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc face 10-place drops after engine changes, BBC Sport reported on Saturday. Mercedes driver George Russell also has a five-place penalty for exceeding his permitted allocation of engine components.

Watch the highlights:

According to BBC Formula 1 correspondent Andrew Benson, Red Bull found problems after Friday practice and will fit Verstappen's car with an entirely new engine. Hamilton, Leclerc and Russell have each taken a new internal combustion engine. The changes mean four drivers from three teams have grid sanctions for Sunday's race at Interlagos.

The different penalties reflect where the drivers stand against the season's engine allowance. BBC Sport reported that the Ferrari pair are exceeding the four-engine limit for the first time, whereas Russell had already gone beyond it. Verstappen has previously overcome an engine-related grid setback at this venue: he won the wet 2024 Sao Paulo race after starting 17th.

Formula 1's official event results show Verstappen was third in Friday's second practice, 0.259 seconds behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who recorded 1:10.763. Lando Norris was second and Russell fourth. Those practice positions provide the on-track backdrop to the component changes, but they are not the race's starting order.

The penalty news came as Interlagos secured its longer-term place on the calendar. A five-year contract extension announced on Saturday keeps Formula 1 racing in Sao Paulo until 2035, according to Crash.net's reporting. F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali highlighted Brazil's importance to the championship and the enthusiasm of its supporters in explaining the agreement.

The new agreement extends a commitment that previously ran through 2030. Formula 1 announced that earlier five-year deal in November 2023. Its account identified Interlagos by its official name, Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, and noted the venue's long championship history, including Ayrton Senna's home victory in 1991 and Kimi Raikkonen's title-clinching race in 2007.