Verstappen beats Kimi by 25 thousandths but there is a festival of sanctions; Alonso and Sainz look at the sky

The equality at the head seems very great between the last three world champions of F1 before the fight for pole in qualifying. Max Verstappen dominated Free Practice 3 of the F1 Sao Paulo GPin Brazilfor only 25 thousandths compared to a Kimi who proclaimed himself the new king of the highest category a week ago in Mexico. And third was Lando Norris, with an improved McLaren, at 0.131. There are five cars in just over two tenths. And on top of that, the rain threatens to appear in qualifying, and especially in the race.

However, the fight at the top, at least in classification, was clearly affected by the large number of sanctions for engine changes that occurred among the theoretical favorites.

Verstappen, Russell and the Ferraris penalized

Verstappen changed his power unit as a precaution due to a problem he had on Friday and will start from the back of the grid whatever he does in qualifying. George Russell, with his Mercedes, will penalize 5 positions on the grid. And Leclerc and Hamilton have 10 penalty spots each.

So, The fight for the first place on the starting grid seems to be a matter of two: Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norriswith the Italian as the favorite, although with the uncertainty generated by the probability of rain.

For now, the fight was even, with Russell at 0″184 in fourth place and Leclerc, 5th at 0″274. Lewis Hamilton was not there, who warned of “strange vibrations in his engine” before speaking of “a major engine failure” on the radio. He ended up with the car on high stands and being the only one at the top without being able to do his qualifying simulation with soft rubber, which explains his unreal 12th position.

Probability of rain in qualifying: Alonso and Sainz need it

Qualifying may be hectic if the rain arrives. It can be long, with the usual waits if the asphalt is very wet, and exciting if it occurs in mixed conditions.

There, anything can happen. And perhaps, there lies the hope of the Spanish. And it is that dry, In FP3, Fernando Alonso dropped to 18th place at 1.5 the best with an Aston Martin that is one of the worst in the last sector, clearly weighed down there by the low power of the Honda engine in a sector with only one curve and with the rest at full throttle and uphill.

Fernando has a very difficult time fighting for his goal of finishing between 12th and 14th on the grid to go for the points.. Only rain could help you, because in water, the engine is not as decisive and the chassis can help, like your hands.

You should hold on to that too. Carlos Sainz, who was 19th, just behind the Asturian, 1.681 off the best time with a Williams whose performance is too far away to aspire to the Top-10.

That rain is what can also give wings and hope to all the penalized pilots. Among them, Russelthe Ferrari and a Max Verstappen who already offered one of his best recitals of his career, coming back in the rain from 17th to victory in a chaotic race.