Further blow to Lewis' hopes

SAO PAULO • Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will have a five-place grid penalty for tomorrow's Sao Paulo Grand Prix, after Formula One's governing body confirmed yesterday that he had taken a new engine.

The Briton is 19 points adrift of Red Bull's Max Verstappen with four races remaining and the grid penalty is another setback to his title hopes.

"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," tweeted his Mercedes team.

His latest five-place penalty will not apply in today's qualifying sprint race at the Interlagos circuit.

Drivers are allowed three engines without penalty. A fourth carries a 10-place penalty but subsequent additions incur five.

Red Bull's team boss Christian Horner saw no need for his team, who are only a point behind Mercedes in the constructors' championship, to take any further engine penalties.

The team's Dutchman has dominated the last two races in Texas and Mexico while Hamilton has struggled, winning only once in eight races since the British Grand Prix in July.

"Their pace was phenomenal in the last race," he said. "They've had a strong car all year - the strongest all year. I think we've done as much as we can.

"We will definitely be pushing this weekend to see if we can squeeze any more out of the car... we anticipate they'll be very hard to beat this weekend."

The 36-year-old added that he felt he and Mercedes had done well to restrict their rivals' lead in a closely fought championship. He has won five races to Verstappen's nine, with four remaining.

"I think people under-appreciate just how well we've done considering the pace they've had since day one... but, at the end of the day, we've not been as fast as them most of the time," he said.

Third and last grand prix, after Silverstone and Monza, to feature the sprint this season, which offers three extra points for the winner. The finishing order of the 100km race will set the grid for the race tomorrow.

2-1

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton leads Red Bull rival Max Verstappen in wins at Interlagos in the last five races.

9-5

Verstappen has nine victories this season, against Hamilton's five.

Hamilton also insisted that the constructors' championship, which Mercedes have won every season since 2014, was the team's main target.

"If I'm really honest, I'm not thinking about me. We're only one point ahead in the constructors' and that is the most important one really," he said. "Of course, I want to win the drivers' championship, but the team one is so important - for the funding you get for development and for all the people who work in the factory.

"It's not just about one person. It's about all of us."

Verstappen, meanwhile, is refusing to dream of being world champion, but on Thursday admitted he would love to race next season with No. 1 on his Red Bull car.

The 24-year-old has raced with No. 33 since starting his F1 career in 2015 and said he would love to swop numbers because "it's the smart thing to do".

But first, he conceded, he would carry on ignoring talk of the title.

"To be honest, if you don't think about it, you don't have any dreams or whatever," he said. "So I am just really focused.

"A lot of things can happen in four races. We are looking good, but things can change very quickly."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Practice 2 (10.55pm) & sprint race (tomorrow, 3.25am), Singtel TV Ch112 & StarHub Ch202