Max Verstappen received a five-place grid penalty for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday, adding another hiccup to his world championship campaign. The Red Bull star was punished for choosing to install a new engine in his car. It’s his sixth of the year, surpassing his previous record of four. The loss comes as his chances of winning a fourth world title in a row have been hampered by McLaren rival Lando Norris, who is 47 points behind him
Last week in Mexico, Verstappen was penalized 10 seconds twice on his way to sixth place for aggressive driving, which forced Norris off the track twice. On Friday, Norris topped the charts for McLaren with a late fastest lap to beat Mercedes’ George Russell, while Oliver Bearman, driving for Haas, made it three Brits on top in the first free practice.
Norris completed the best lap of one minute and 10.610 seconds, outpacing Russell by 0.181, with Bearman third, 0.191 behind, ahead of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. Verstappen was 15th in the second Red Bull, but he did not push for a flying lap in the final minutes on soft tires.
Alex Albon finished fifth for Williams, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who had won the previous two races in Texas and Mexico, and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg came in eighth. Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion, finished ninth for Aston Martin after returning from treatment for a stomach virus in Europe early on Friday morning, while Pierre Gasly finished tenth for Alpine.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, like Verstappen, did not record a flying lap after primarily lapping on mediums throughout the session. He finished 16th, while Sergio Perez, driving the second Red Bull, finished 19th for similar reasons.