Hamilton's smoking Ferrari engine should come out now, while the extra penalty is cheap

Red Bull have already taken the whole hit

Red Bull went much further. They changed the ICE, turbocharger and exhaust on Max Verstappen's car, which adds up to 30 places of penalties and a start from the back of the grid. He still topped third practice with a 1m 11.622s, 0.025s clear of Kimi Antonelli.

That matters for Ferrari. At Interlagos the grid slot counts for less than a car that works. Verstappen started 17th here in 2024 and won, then went from the pit lane to third in 2025. Hamilton came back from the back of the grid across the sprint and the grand prix in Sao Paulo in 2021.

Why a second Ferrari engine costs so little

The rule makes the case for us. The first time a driver goes over the allocation of any element, it costs 10 places. Each further time costs five, and all penalties at the same event add together. A driver whose total passes 15 places starts from the back anyway.

So another engine for Hamilton means five more places on a penalty he is already serving. Our view is that if Ferrari have any doubt about the unit that smoked in practice, they should change it now and take those five places, rather than nurse it through a race and risk not seeing the flag.

A competitive SF-26 raises the stakes

There is a reason the stakes feel higher this time. Motorsport.com reported that Ferrari finally appear to have found "many of the answers that had been missing" with the SF-26, with results from recent grands prix backing that up. A team that has spent the season chasing pace has more to lose from a race thrown away on an engine it doesn't trust.

Ferrari aren't alone in the penalty queue either. George Russell takes five places for an ICE change of his own, and Cadillac have given Sergio Perez a new Ferrari ICE, turbocharger and MGU-K, which also brings a grid drop.

The answer will show in the Ferrari garage before qualifying on Saturday: what goes into Hamilton's car decides whether he starts 10 places down from his qualifying position, or 15.