Lewis Hamilton faces possible São Paulo GP grid penalty

Lewis Hamilton faces a possible grid penalty for the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix after a difficult Friday for Ferrari at Interlagos. The Race reported that Ferrari planned to change power unit components on Hamilton’s car after second practice, with La Gazzetta dello Sport also reporting an expected engine change and grid drop.

The FIA’s Friday power unit bulletin listed a new engine for Mercedes driver George Russell, who received a five-place penalty. Hamilton’s proposed changes had yet to appear in an FIA bulletin, so the size of any grid drop remained unclear.

Ferrari looks for a better balance before qualifying

Hamilton went fourth quickest in first practice but slipped to sixth in FP2, 0.450s behind pacesetter Kimi Antonelli. Charles Leclerc was seventh, a further 0.270s back, after handing his car to Dino Beganovic for the opening session. Both Ferraris ended the day behind two Mercedes, two McLarens and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Hamilton said the bumps and low grip at Interlagos made it difficult to get the tyres into their working window. Leclerc was unhappy with how the car felt through the corners and planned to change his set-up overnight. The two drivers went into Saturday with different amounts of track time, with Leclerc having just one session to assess the balance for himself.

The setback came a week after Hamilton took his first pole for Ferrari in Mexico City, despite losing power in Friday practice there. At Interlagos, any grid drop would make the gains Ferrari can find before Saturday qualifying more valuable.