Russell to take five-place penalty at Brazilian Grand Prix

George Russell will take a five-place grid penalty at the Brazilian Grand Prix after Mercedes introduced a sixth internal-combustion engine to his power-unit allocation. Russell said the team had expected to incur another penalty between the Singapore race and the end of the season, and considered Brazil a suitable place to do so. Russell had already exceeded his original allowance of four engines in Singapore. The additional engine therefore brings a five-place drop on the grid, according to the reports. The penalty was planned after power-unit problems earlier in the season left him needing another engine before the year’s end. Russell said Mercedes had weighed the circuit’s history when choosing where to take the penalty. He pointed to Lewis Hamilton’s recovery at the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix, when Hamilton advanced from 20th to fifth in the sprint after a penalty. Russell said five places was a manageable cost and that he would try to make up ground. The engine change is another setback in a season in which Russell has described having to repeatedly recover from difficult weekends. Speaking on Thursday, he said he felt exhausted by the cycle of setbacks and efforts to...