It’s the second time the Mercedes driver has exceeded the
limit of three engines for the season, and the penalty will make it even harder
to decrease his points deficit to Red Bull rival Max Verstappen at Interlagos.
Hamilton was more than 0.3 seconds ahead of Verstappen in
the practice session. He trails the Dutchman in the drivers’ championship by 19
points heading into Sunday’s race.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was more than 0.4 seconds behind
Hamilton. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas came fourth.
The decision by Mercedes to change the internal combustion
engine will not affect Hamilton’s starting position in Saturday’s qualifying
sprint race at Interlagos, where the winner gets three points. However, it
means the British driver will not start higher than sixth in Sunday’s race,
even if he wins the qualifying sprint.
Hamilton took a 10-place grid penalty for a new engine in
Turkey. Bottas has faced similar problems, which has raised questions about the
engine’s reliability.
The Brazilian GP will be the third event of the season with
a qualifying sprint race on Saturday to determine Sunday’s grid.
The two previous sprint races were held in Silverstone and
Monza.
Friday’s practice is the only chance for the teams to change
their set-up before the evening’s qualifying.