Brazilian GP FP1 Report: Lewis Hamilton Handed 5-Place Penalty in Blow to F1 Fight Against Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets ahead over the first F1 practice session to gain an early advantage ahead of qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Max Verstappen clinched P2 for Red Bull ahead of his own teammate, Sergio Perez, who extended his Mexican GP form into Brazil.

How the F1 session unfolded

Struggles for Verstappen & Hamilton

Even before the lights went green, a lot of cars rushed to the pit exit to gain track advantage. And why wouldn’t they, considering it’s the sprint weekend and the fact that the teams have to get their cars’ set-ups to absolute perfection in less than 4 hours, every minute of the 60-minute session was crucial.

Formula One F1 – Brazilian Grand Prix – Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil – November 12, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action during practice REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

As expected, complaints started falling into the ears of the race engineers, and it was Verstappen who started off the proceedings. The Dutchman raised vibration issues with the tires. But, David Croft reckoned the vibrations might have something to do with Pirelli’s tire weight issues amidst the time crunch due to the freight delay.

But, Verstappen wouldn’t worry much, as another announcement consequently arrived – a 5-place grid penalty for Hamilton for a new ICE at the back of the Mercedes. What’s more, the Briton also complained of a “poor front“, possibly due to stiff suspension, causing the car to bounce a bit too much.

Runs on medium/hard tires – how the F1 drivers fared

Well, all eyes were obviously on Mercedes and Red Bull’s pace. Although too early to infer, Verstappen was miles ahead of his rival; The Dutchman posted a lap time of 1:10:189, 0.8s quicker than the 7-time world champion.

But, then arrived the runs on lower fuel load. And yet again, Verstappen topped the charts with a 1:09:417, 0.075s ahead of Perez, 0.35s ahead of Hamilton, and 0.45s ahead of Bottas.

Formula One F1 – Brazilian Grand Prix – Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil – November 12, 2021 Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. in action during practice REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Then followed Leclerc, Alonso, Tsunoda, Sainz, Norris, and finally, Gasly. Interestingly, Aston Martin look much like the underdogs this weekend, as both Stroll and Vettel looked quite strong through the FP1 session, lapping as quick as the rest of the mid-field.

Overall, a rather busy 60 minutes come to an end as we head into the qualifying session which is due in a couple of hours’ time. So, who do you think will snatch the Speed King award at Interlagos?

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