Staff Reporter.
@F1.
Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix for a technical infringement on his Mercedes car.
The rear wing on his Mercedes was found to contravene rules after he set pole position for Saturday’s ‘sprint’ event.
It means Hamilton will start the ‘sprint’ from last place, with title rival Max Verstappen on pole.
In a separate verdict, Verstappen was fined 50,000 euros for touching Hamilton’s car after qualifying.
That fine equates to £42,700.
The decision to penalise Hamilton is a potentially major blow to his title hopes as the season heads towards its climax.
Hamilton trails Verstappen by 19 points in the world championship with four races and a maximum of 107 points available.
The Briton also has a five-place grid penalty for the main grand prix after Mercedes fitted a new engine to his car. It was his fifth of the season, when the maximum allowed is three.
If Verstappen scores at least five points more than Hamilton this weekend, the Dutchman will be able to finish second behind the seven-time champion at all three remaining races and still win his first world title.
The ‘sprint’ – a short race about one third the distance of a grand prix – sets the grid for Sunday’s main event and awards a small number of points to the top three.
There are three points for the winner of the sprint, two for the driver in second and one for third.