File picture of Max Verstappen.© AFP
Max Verstappen was hit with a five-place grid penalty on Friday for the Brazilian Grand Prix as his world title defence suffered one other bump within the street. The Red Bull star was penalised for opting to take a brand new engine in his automotive. It is his sixth of the 12 months, exceeding the restrict of 4. The setback comes as his hopes of a fourth successive world title have been steadily dented by McLaren rival Lando Norris who’s 47 factors behind within the championship with 4 race weekends left this season.
Last week in Mexico, Verstappen was penalised 10 seconds twice on his option to sixth place after he was punished for his aggressive driving which twice noticed him power Norris off the observe.
On Friday, Norris topped the instances for McLaren with a late quickest lap to beat Mercedes’ George Russell as Oliver Bearman, driving for Haas, made it three Britons on high in opening free follow.
Norris clocked a finest lap in a single minute and 10.610 seconds to outpace Russell by 0.181 with Bearman third, 0.191 adrift, forward of Oscar Piastri within the second McLaren.
Verstappen was down in fifteenth within the second Red Bull, however had not pushed for a flying lap within the ultimate minutes on gentle tyres.
Alex Albon was fifth for Williams forward of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, winners of the final two races in Texas and Mexico, with Nico Hulkenberg eighth for Haas.
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was ninth for Aston Martin, having arrived again from therapy for a abdomen bug in Europe early on Friday morning, and Pierre Gasly was tenth for Alpine.
Like Verstappen, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes didn’t clock a flying lap having lapped on mediums for many of the session.
He wound up in sixteenth and Sergio Perez, within the second Red Bull, was nineteenth for related causes.
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