Why Lewis Hamilton starts ahead of Max Verstappen despite bigger penalty explained

Lewis Hamilton picked up a grand total of 75 places in grid penalties for the São Paulo Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen was hit with 30. Yet the Ferrari driver will still line up ahead of the Red Bull driver on Sunday.

Ferrari had initially planned only to swap the internal combustion engine on Hamilton's SF-26, a change that would have cost him 10 grid places.

But a problem with the power unit emerged during third practice, prompting the Scuderia to fit the seven-time champion with an entirely fresh engine. That resulted in a 65-place penalty, taking his total to 75.

Verstappen already knew before qualifying at Interlagos that there was little left to play for. The Dutchman also took on new power unit components, leaving him with a 30-place grid penalty.

Hamilton ended up 11th in qualifying, while Verstappen opted to sit out Q2 to save wet-weather tyres for the race, finishing 16th as a result.

The exact rule behind Hamilton-Verstappen starting positions

Despite Hamilton's penalty dwarfing that of Verstappen, the Briton will still start ahead of the Milton Keynes-based outfit's driver. The regulations draw a line between penalties of 15 places or fewer and penalties exceeding 15 places.

When the starting order is worked out, drivers with penalties of 15 places or fewer are slotted onto the grid first. 

George Russell, for example, received a five-place penalty for new power unit parts, dropping him from second to seventh. Charles Leclerc fell from fourth to 14th for the same reason, having been hit with a 10-place penalty.

After those adjustments, every driver without a penalty is placed on the grid, filling in the gaps left behind by the drivers serving penalties of 15 places or fewer.

Only then do the drivers with penalties exceeding 15 places get dealt with. Article B2.5.4.b.iv of the sporting regulations comes into play at that point: every driver with a penalty of more than 15 places is sent to the back of the field. 

Whoever qualified highest among them gets the best remaining position, with the actual number of places above 15 becoming irrelevant. Since Hamilton qualified 11th and Verstappen 16th, the Ferrari driver takes the higher spot.

The same rule explains why Sergio Pérez will start last despite a 30-place penalty of his own. The Cadillac driver qualified 21st.