Sao Paulo – Lewis Hamilton's hopes of an eighth world title suffered a fresh blow on Friday when he was penalised five places on the Brazil GP grid for taking an engine change on his Mercedes.
The British driver, who is 19 points behind Max Verstappen in the championship with four races left, had already seen four engine changes this season.
"Lewis has taken a new Internal Combustion Engine for this event – his fifth of the season – and will take a five-place grid penalty for Sunday's #BrazilGP," tweeted his Mercedes team.
BREAKING: Lewis has taken a new Internal Combustion Engine for this event - his fifth of the season - and will take a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/Fk4lSu2DRR
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 12, 2021
His latest five-place penalty will not apply in Saturday's qualifying sprint race at the Interlagos circuit.
AFP