A penalty Mercedes saw coming
George Russell will start the Sao Paulo Grand Prix five places back. Mercedes fitted a new internal combustion engine to his car this week, his sixth of the season, and the rules hand him a five-place grid drop. It was no surprise. The Briton had to take one more penalty before the year ended after the power-unit failure that stopped him in Malaysia.
Mercedes say the change carries no upgrade element, and the team has yet to use its one allowed upgrade of the season.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
Why Interlagos
Russell already took a bigger hit in Singapore, where a fifth engine sent him to the back of the field. This time the cost is smaller, and Interlagos is one of the easier circuits for overtaking. “Five places doesn’t seem that bad and we’ll try and come back through,” he said in a video on the team’s Instagram story. He pointed to Lewis Hamilton’s recovery here in 2021 as a reference.
Rain also threatens the weekend, which could help a driver starting from the pack.
The stakes are high for the team. Kimi Antonelli sealed the drivers’ title in Mexico, and Mercedes will take the constructors’ crown on Sunday if they outscore Ferrari by three or more points. Russell sits fourth in the standings with four races left.
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