F1 Brazil GP LIVE: Practice and sprint qualifying updates as Max Verstappen handed grid penalty
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris resume their battle for the F1 drivers’ title, with Ferarri closing in on the constructors’ title
The F1 season resumes in Sao Paulo in the Brazil Grand Prix after more drama between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris last week in Mexico City with the Briton cutting his rival’s lead.
Carlos Sainz stormed home to land victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to bolster Ferrari’s hopes of beating out McLaren and Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
The Spaniard bids to further enhance his reputation before his Scuderia departure, with Lewis Hamilton poised to join in 2025.
Hamilton, meanwhile, endured another setback as he continues to struggle head-to-head with Mercedes teammate George Russell and will be determined to pick up form before the season and his time with the Silver Arrows is out.
Follow all the latest practice updates and build-up to sprint qualifying at the Brazil Grand Prix below:
Hamilton set to drive Senna's title-winning car
The 2024 season marks 30 years since the death of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna.
Lewis Hamilton will driving the Brazilian’s 1990 title-winning McLaren MP4/5B for a special demo run after qualifying on Saturday, an experience he never thought he’d get to have.
“I never in a million years thought I’d ever get to drive Senna’s car here,” said the seven-time world champion.
Hamilton had hoped the experience would be a surprise for the fans, with the idea being he would wear a white suit and Senna’s iconic race helmet.
“It’s impossible to keep things quiet,” said Hamilton as the news leaked after of the Grand Prix weekend.
Horner on Red Bull ‘supporting’ Perez
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has been one of Sergio Perez’s biggest supporters but even he appears to be losing patience with the Mexican, who has endured a terrible year this season.
“I think we have done everything we could to support Checo [Perez] and we will do the same this weekend in Brazil,” said Horner. “But there comes a point where you reach a limit.
“There comes a time when difficult decisions have to be made. We are now third in the constructors’ championship. We are determined to win again, but that will be hard work in the next four races.”
Verstappen ‘knows what he’s doing’ on track as he fires back at driving criticism
Max Verstappen said he is a “three-time world champion who knows what I am doing” after Damon Hill accused him of acting like Wacky Races villain Dick Dastardly.
A fired-up Verstappen also hit back at his critics for being “bias” and “very annoying” after his driving tactics were placed in the spotlight following his combined 20-second penalty for forcing rival Lando Norris off twice in Mexico.
Responding to Hill’s comments, Verstappen said: “I don’t listen to those individuals. I just do my thing. I am a three-time world champion. It is my 10th year in Formula One. I know what I am doing.
“I listen to people that are close to me and objective and not just there to stir the…I cannot say the word because I will get another (penalty).
“Some people are being very annoying, and I know who those people are and I don’t pay attention to them. Some people are biased, it is fine, and it is not my problem at the end of the day. I continue with my life and I keep performing.”
Brazil GP practice updates - Christian Horner maintains Max Verstappen wants a ‘good fight’ for F1 title
“We want to go race hard and fair,” Horner continues, he’s adamant Verstappen has been treated harshly.
“That incident will get discussed, but we want consistency. This is where the race director and the drivers will discuss this.
“We want to see a good fight, Max wants it, but the rules need to be clear. It doesn’t need to be complicated, it doesn’t need to be a cricket manual.
“It’s the instincts of a racing driver, he’ll always go for the gap and the apex of a corner. They’ve been racing for 20 years now. The inside line, going for the apex, he’s controlling the corner. I don’t dispute the second one, but the first one is just hard racing. He’s not thinking about a rule book, just his racing position.”
Red Bull weigh up surprise wildcard option for 2025: ‘He was faster than Franco Colapinto’
Red Bull are considering going with a surprise wildcard option as their second driver to partner Max Verstappen for the 2025 F1 season as Sergio Perez’s struggles continue.
During the summer, the Mexican veteran signed a contract extension to stay with Red Bull until the end of the 2026 campaign but has been in dismal form ever since.
He hasn’t finished higher than sixth in any of the nine races since that extension despite teammate Verstappen finishing inside the top six in every one of those races – winning two and finishing second in two others.
Red Bull weigh up surprise wildcard option for 2025: ‘Faster than Franco Colapinto’
Sergio Perez’s dismal performances have opened up speculation of a new driver partnering Max Verstappen at Red Bull next season
Lando Norris sets pace in Brazil
Lando Norris set the pace in practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix after his championship rival Max Verstappen was dealt a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race.
Verstappen, who leads Norris by 47 points heading into the concluding four rounds, will take the punishment after Red Bull fitted a new engine outside the Dutchman’s permitted allocation.
Norris saw off Mercedes’ George Russell by 0.181 seconds as teenager Ollie Bearman completed a British one-two-three in early practice ahead of the sprint qualifying session later on.
Brazil GP build-up to sprint qualifying
“He's a star, he's arrived, I thought I was going to a football match today, I saw a team of people wearing the Argentine football top," Damon Hill remarks when discussing Franco Colapinto’s future.
“The whole grid in Austin, in front of Colapinto’s garage was screaming his name, it’s fantastic to see,” Naomi Schiff adds.
Marko on Verstappen grid penalty
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko suggested that switching out Max Verstappen’s engine for the Brazilian Grand Prix could end up bening beneficial to the team as the circuit is one which favours overtaking.
He told ORF: “The engine we had in there [for the Mexican GP] was no longer intended for the race.
“The older an engine gets, the more its performance diminishes [...] We saw that we were missing 3-8kph on the straights.
“The penalty would be five places. That wouldn’t be so severe in Brazil, for example, where you can overtake relatively easily.”
Brazil GP practice updates
Max Verstappen hit by grid penalty at Brazil Grand Prix in boost for Lando Norris
Max Verstappen has been hit by a five-place grid penalty for the Brazil Grand Prix.
Red Bull put a new engine in his car ahead of the race in Sao Paulo and left the garage early in practice on Friday. The Dutch driver will hope to see results in Friday’s sprint qualifying ahead of the sprint race on Saturday.
It is the third penalty in two races for Verstappen after two 10-second penalties in Mexico due to separate incidents with title rival Lando Norris.
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