By Gabriel Araujo
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton dominated qualifying but faced possible demotion to the back of the grid for a sprint race to decide the Sao Paulo Formula One Grand Prix starting line-up on Saturday.
Stewards ordered the rear wing assembly of his Mercedes to be impounded and the car stored overnight after it failed a technical inspection following the session at Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit.
A representative of the team had earlier been summoned to see the stewards.
Hamilton, 19 points adrift of Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen with four races remaining, already has a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race after Mercedes changed the engine in his car.
The Briton made the most of it to clock a fastest time of one minute 07.934 seconds in front of a cheering crowd. Verstappen was second but 0.438 second slower, a considerable margin around one of the shortest laps on the calendar.
“Let’s go,” exclaimed Hamilton over the team radio after being told his position on a cold and windy afternoon with brooding dark clouds overhead.
The Briton would be looking to take three points on Saturday, with the top three scoring in a 3-2-1 system, but that was thrown into doubt by a measurement of millimetres.
Formula One technical delegate Jo Bauer reported the uppermost rear wing adjustable positions did not comply with the rules for a maximum distance of 85mm when the drag reduction system was deployed.
GOT IT RIGHT
Hamilton had been fizzing after stepping out of the car, telling reporters he had finally got the car performing to his liking.
“A lot of the times we get it wrong, I get it wrong, and today I got it right and the car was really nice to drive. It was everything I wanted,” he said.
Verstappen, who will be chasing his third win in a row on Sunday and 10th of the campaign, said it was no surprise Hamilton was so quick.
“When they take a new engine, naturally they have a bit more power for the weekend,” said the 24-year-old.
“For me it’s not a big shock. I’m just happy to be second. That’s a good position to start from. Of course you always want to be closer but sometimes you just have to be realistic and there was not much more in it.
The 100km sprint is the last of three races in the experimental format this season, with the other two being at Monza and Silverstone. At least six are expected to be scheduled for 2022.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was third fastest with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez alongside on the second row.
“Lewis was untouchable today,” said Perez, who is hitting form just when it matters and has been on the podium for the last three races.
Team boss Christian Horner agreed: “That fresh engine is obviously pumping out some horsepower for (Hamilton) so I think second was the best we could hope for,” he said.
“If you look at the relative speed (of Hamilton) compared to Valtteri it’s a couple of tenths.”
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly starts fifth with the two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc followed by the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in the battle for third overall.
Fernando Alonso qualified 10th for Alpine, who are fifth and level on points with AlphaTauri.
Further back George Russell was out-qualified by Williams team mate Nicholas Latifi – the first time that has happened although the actual grand prix grid positions will not be decided until Saturday.
(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Ken Ferris, Christian Radnedge and William Mallard)
