Hamilton takes five-place grid penalty, sets pace in Brazil

Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton powers his car during the free practice sessions at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, or Interlagos racetrack, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday ahead of the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix. (AFP)

• The British driver had already experienced four engine changes this season
• His latest five-place penalty will not apply in Saturday's qualifying sprint race at the Interlagos circuit

SAO PAULO: Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of an eighth world title suffered a fresh blow Friday when he was penalized 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 experienced 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,” his Mercedes team tweeted.
His latest five-place penalty will not apply in Saturday’s qualifying sprint race at the Interlagos circuit.
Despite the impending penalty, Hamilton was still fastest in opening practice on Friday with Verstappen in a Red Bull at 0.367sec behind.
Their teammates Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, at 0.442sec, and Valtteri Bottas behind the wheel of the second Mercedes, 0.517sec off the lead, filled out the top four.