Ferrari lifts lid on Lewis Hamilton decision after 65-place penalty

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed the reason Lewis Hamilton had a second engine change at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton began Saturday’s running in Sao Paulo already facing a 10-place grid penalty after the team opted to fit his SF-26 with a fifth internal combustion engine of the F1 2026 season.

Lewis Hamilton received a 65-place grid penalty in Brazil

However, during FP3, the Briton reported smoke.

“I’ve got smoke in the cockpit,” he said. “Coming in.”

Hamilton pulled into the Ferrari pit box with smoke pouring from his car, his FP3 over with 25 minutes of the session to run.

The team told PlanetF1.com that “after completing our analysis, we have decided to replace the entire power unit.”

“Unfortunately,” conceded Hamilton after qualifying, “[I] have the penalty, but the guys did a great job of fixing the car.”

Hamilton, who was 11th fastest in qualifying, was subsequently slapped with a 65-place grid penalty but lined up 20th on the grid due to penalties for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Although he made a great start to gain 11 places on the opening lap, he dropped down the order as he struggled with his overheating intermediate tyres.

He finished the in ninth place, a lap behind race winner Lando Norris.

Vasseur insists Ferrari was right to fit Hamilton’s SF-26 with a brand-new power unit as it was a “free” change given his initial penalty.

“We had a doubt when we were not sure to be able to reuse the engine,” he said.

“I didn’t want to take a risk and have another issue later on during the weekend and take a penalty for Vegas.

“As we were between FP3 and quali, the change of engine was for free.”

Lewis Hamilton v Charles Leclerc: Ferrari F1 2026 scores

F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates

F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates

Hamilton lost ground in the Drivers’ Championship in Brazil, overhauled by George Russell for third while Max Verstappen in second place extended his advantage.

The Briton is 18 points behind Verstappen and one shy of Russell. As for Charles Leclerc, he’s 15 points behind teammate.

Vasseur says that while it wasn’t the result Ferrari had hoped for, the team’s performances have improved as the season has progressed.

He said: “I think everybody on the grid wants to win, wants to fight, and we are all competitors, and we all want to win. When you start the championship, that you have this goal.

“Now we knew from the beginning that it would be difficult for us, that we understood from the first straight line.

“I think the team did a good job to continue to push, to develop the engine, I think on the chassis side, we are more than performing.

“I think after Madrid, Baku, from Malaysia, let’s say that we are much more performing. That we are one or two missed opportunities, but in terms of pure performance, we are there.

“We had the first six races of the season a bit difficult compared to Merc – they were perhaps six, seven tenths faster than us, and then we came back all over the season.

“Now, we’d scored more points than everybody after Madrid. I don’t know if it’s still true today, I didn’t do the calculation, but I think it’s good for the team, and it’s a good feeling for the winter break.

“But for sure today, I don’t think about the positivity of the before, I’m thinking about this one.”

Read next: Ferrari reveals reason for drastic pace fluctuations during Brazilian GP