Verstappen Tops Sao Paulo FP3 by 0.025s Despite Back-of-Grid Penalty
Updated
Updated · Formula 1 · Nov 7
Verstappen Tops Sao Paulo FP3 by 0.025s Despite Back-of-Grid Penalty
3 articles · Updated · Formula 1 · Nov 7
Summary
1m11.622s put Max Verstappen fastest in Sao Paulo FP3, edging Kimi Antonelli by 0.025s and Lando Norris by 0.131s before qualifying.
Heavy rain threats delayed meaningful running until the final 15 minutes, when soft-tyre qualifying simulations finally began and the top four ended covered by less than two tenths.
Grid penalties still cloud Sunday’s race: Verstappen is set to start from the back after multiple power-unit changes, while George Russell has a five-place drop and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc 10-place penalties for ICE changes.
Hamilton’s session also unraveled with engine vibrations and then smoke in the cockpit, leaving him 12th, while Lance Stroll stopped early with an ERS issue.
Autódromo José Carlos Pace got longer-term certainty off track, with the Sao Paulo venue confirmed on the Formula 1 calendar through 2035.