Sao Paulo starting grid: How will the drivers line up after penalties?

The race weekend in Sao Paulo has turned into a festival of penalties. Five drivers have received penalties for changing power unit components, including world champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. So how will they line up on the grid?

The rules governing how drivers are placed on the grid after penalties have changed in recent years. The key change was the introduction of a system that simply adds the number of penalty places to a driver’s qualifying position. This prevents situations where a driver qualifying tenth with a five-place penalty could end up starting 13th or 14th simply because someone else had also been penalised.

George Russell’s position is therefore straightforward to calculate: adding five places to his qualifying result means he will start seventh on Sunday (2+5). In the past, he would have regained one place because Charles Leclerc, who originally qualified fourth, also faces a penalty, but the days of complicated calculations are long gone. Adding ten places to the Monegasque’s position puts him 14th on the grid (4+10).

There is, however, one exception. When drivers rack up a large number of grid penalties for changing power unit components, the FIA no longer orders them at the back according to the number of penalty places, as it once did. That rule has also changed; anyone with a penalty exceeding 15 places is automatically sent to the back of the grid.

In Sao Paulo, this applies to Sergio Pérez (+30), Max Verstappen (+30) and Lewis Hamilton (+75). In their case, their qualifying times determine their order, rather than the size of their penalties. As Lewis Hamilton qualified highest, he will start 20th on Sunday. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez will line up behind him.

The starting grid for Sunday’s race:

1. Lando Norris
2. Kimi Antonelli
3. Liam Lawson
4. Nico Hülkenberg
5. Isack Hadjar
6. Ollie Bearman
7. George Russell (2nd + 5 places)
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Alex Albon
10. Oscar Piastri
11. Rafael Câmara
12. Arvid Lindblad
13. Carlos Sainz
14. Charles Leclerc (4th + 10 places)
15. Franco Colapinto
16. Pierre Gasly
17. Lance Stroll
18. Valtteri Bottas
19. Gabriel Bortoleto
20. Lewis Hamilton (11th + back-of-the-grid start)
21. Max Verstappen (16th + back-of-the-grid start)
22. Sergio Pérez (21st + back-of-the-grid start)