George Russell will drop five places on the grid for Sunday's São Paulo Grand Prix after Mercedes fitted a new internal combustion engine (ICE) to his W17. Russell confirmed it himself in a video on Mercedes' Instagram account before Friday practice. After the 60-place penalty he took in Singapore, this one is comparatively small.
Why only five places
Grande Prêmio cites Article B8.2.8 of the sporting regulations: once a driver passes his seasonal allocation, the first extra component of each type costs ten places and every further one costs five. Russell had already exceeded his allocation in Singapore, so this engine is an add-on and costs five. Motorsport.com says it is his sixth ICE of the season and that he went past his initial allowance of four in Singapore. Only Motorsport.com gives that count; the other two outlets do not.
In Singapore Mercedes changed the turbocharger, MGU-K and exhaust alongside the engine, for a combined 60-place penalty. According to Grande Prêmio, Russell qualified sixth there and started 22nd.
What Russell said
On Mercedes' social channels Russell said: "We always had to take a grid penalty at some point between Singapore and the end of the year and we felt like a good place to take it." He added: "Five places doesn't seem that bad, and we'll try and come back through." He also pointed to the big penalty Lewis Hamilton took at this track some years ago.
RacingNews365 writes that Hamilton dropped to tenth on the grid at Interlagos in 2021 and went on to win, passing Max Verstappen on lap 59. Motorsport.com and Grandprix.com make the same comparison, but the places they describe differ. This piece follows RacingNews365.
In a separate interview Russell said he feels "a bit exhausted this season of constantly picking myself back up". Motorsport.com reports he has fallen to fourth in the drivers' standings, behind Verstappen and Hamilton.
The weekend schedule
The penalty is applied by moving his qualifying position back five places. São Paulo is a standard weekend with no sprint.
| Session | Local (BRT) | UTC | Korea (KST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Sat 15:00 | Sat 18:00 | Sun 03:00 |
| Race (71 laps) | Sun 14:00 | Sun 17:00 | Mon 02:00 |
Grandprix.com says the FIA's individual component notification was still pending when Russell posted the video. The final grid is set after qualifying, and the exact penalty should be checked against the FIA document.
Sources
- Grande Prêmio — Russell to take five-place grid penalty at São Paulo GP after Mercedes engine change
- Motorsport.com — "Exhausted" George Russell set for Brazilian F1 grid penalty
- Grandprix.com — Russell confirms five-place São Paulo grid penalty
- RacingNews365 — George Russell eyes Lewis Hamilton heroics as Brazil grid penalty confirmed
