Hamilton tops Brazil qualifying, but gets five-place grid penalty

Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the qualifying session on Friday. Pic/AP,PTI

Lewis Hamilton beat rival Max Verstappen in qualifying to take pole position for sprint race ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, although an engine change means the British driver is facing a five-place grid penalty on Sunday.

Hamilton was more than 0.4 seconds ahead of his Red Bull rival in Friday's qualifying at Interlagos, having also set the fastest time in the morning's practice session. That means he'll start first in the sprint race on Saturday, which will determine the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix. "

However, the decision by Mercedes to change the engine of his car means the British driver will not start higher than sixth in Sunday's race, even if he wins the sprint. "Today was a really good qualifying session, I'm super happy with it," Hamilton said. "We've got the penalty but we'll give it everything we've got. It's not easy to follow, but I guess Max is starting on pole [Sunday] now so it's going to be very hard to catch him, but I'll do my best to try and go through the field."

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