Max Verstappen tops Brazil GP FP3 as Lewis Hamilton suffers engine trouble
Max Verstappen set the pace in final practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen edged newly-crowned Formula 1 champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the fastest time in final practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Rain stayed away for the final hour of practice running at Interlagos as Verstappen pipped Mercedes’ Antonelli to the quickest time by 0.025 seconds on the soft tyre simulation runs.
Four-time world champion Verstappen will start from the back of the grid for Sunday’s race in Brazil after Red Bull changed power unit components in his RB22.
Mercedes’ George Russell (five places) and the Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (both 10 places) will also serve grid penalties this weekend.
Lando Norris was third-fastest for McLaren as he ended up 0.131s adrift of Verstappen, with Russell, Leclerc and Oscar Piastri taking fourth, fifth and sixth.
F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad led Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson in seventh, ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who rounded out the top-10.
Hamilton hit immediate trouble with the brand new engine fitted in his Ferrari, having reported “big engine braking”.
Following checks in the garage, Ferrari sent Hamilton back out, only for the seven-time world champion to immediately come back in after reporting smoke in the cockpit.
Smoke was seen pouring out of Hamilton’s SF-26 when he parked up in the pits. The issue cost Hamilton vital track time and meant he was unable to get in a qualifying simulation run on soft tyres, leaving him only 12th.
F1 debutant Rafael Camara outpaced Haas team-mate Ollie Bearman for the first time as he took 15th, 0.128s clear of the Briton.
Lance Stroll ended up 22nd and slowest after a suspected ERS issue in his Aston Martin cut-short his FP3 programme with 40 minutes left on the clock.
Cadillac’s Sergio Perez will be investigated after the session for driving in an “unsafe condition”.
The Mexican, who will also start from the back of the grid with a complete new power unit, appeared to throw something out of his car onto the track towards the end of FP3.
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