Hamilton, Leclerc and Verstappen all handed grid penalties in Brazil

Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen will all start Sunday's São Paulo Grand Prix from grid penalties after their teams opted to change power unit components following a difficult set of Friday practice sessions at Interlagos.

Ferrari has confirmed a planned engine change on both Hamilton and Leclerc's SF-26 cars, fitting a new internal combustion engine that will cost each driver a ten-place grid drop for the race, according to Autosport and Yahoo Sports.

Verstappen's situation is more severe. Red Bull has carried out a complete power unit change on his RB22, sending the reigning title contender to the back of the grid for Sunday's race.

Red Bull had indicated earlier in the weekend that it wanted to delay any power unit change for as long as possible, having said before the sessions began that a change was not yet necessary at Interlagos. That assessment altered on Friday.

Verstappen ran into what his team described as several 'small issues' during practice, which also led to him sitting out the final six minutes of second practice. Red Bull's initial explanation for the early stop was 'inconsistencies', a line that looked curious at the time given it meant Verstappen forfeited a practice start on Interlagos' slightly uphill grid, an area in which Red Bull's starts have not always excelled this season.

Mechanics were seen working underneath Verstappen's car immediately after he climbed out, and Red Bull broke curfew on Friday evening before the full engine change was officially confirmed on Saturday.

The penalty leaves Verstappen facing another recovery drive through the field at a circuit where he has previous experience of doing exactly that. He went from the pitlane to the podium at Interlagos last year, and in 2024 won the race having started 17th.

The penalties land at a sensitive moment for Ferrari, who arrive in Brazil still working through the fallout from Hamilton and Leclerc colliding in Mexico, where Leclerc's attempt to pass his teammate cost both drivers and handed victory to Verstappen, according to Guardian Formula One.

Team principal Fred Vasseur condemned that incident as a lack of respect for the team and was expected to hold a crunch meeting with both drivers at Interlagos on Friday, the Guardian reported. It followed earlier friction at Zandvoort over strategy and a clash between the pair at Monza's first chicane.

This year's drivers' championship is already settled, with Kimi Antonelli crowned at the previous round in Mexico, but Ferrari are understood to view 2027 as their real opportunity to return to title contention, making how they manage their two drivers an increasingly pressing question.

Grid penalties for three of the field's leading names add a further complication to a Brazilian Grand Prix weekend already shadowed by uncertainty over how Ferrari intends to balance its drivers heading into the remainder of the season.