Ferrari's decision to replace Lewis Hamilton's entire power unit at Interlagos added 60 places to his penalty and moved him one grid slot. A sixth engine alone would have left him on 15 places and 19th. The whole unit made it 75 and 20th, because past 15 places Article B2.5.4b.iv stops adding and sorts the drivers concerned by qualifying. That left Hamilton ahead of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, on 30 places each, 20th to their 21st and 22nd on the FIA's final starting grid. He finished ninth.

Clause iv says drivers with "more than 15 cumulative unserved grid position penalties" will "start behind any other classified driver", and that "their relative position will be determined in accordance with their Qualifying classification". Drivers on 15 or fewer go through clause i instead, where a temporary slot equals qualifying position plus penalty, and unpenalised cars then fill the gaps. Up to 15, every place goes into the sum. From 16 the sum is thrown away.

Ferrari reached 75 in two steps on 7 November. Document 37 gave Hamilton 10 places for a fifth engine, well short of the line. In that morning's final practice, formula1.com reports, he had vibrations, a loss of power and smoke in the cockpit, and Ferrari then chose "to replace the entire power unit". Document 43 logs seven more elements used in qualifying: a sixth engine at five places, and a turbocharger, exhaust set, energy store, control electronics, MGU-K and ancillary component at 10 each. That made 65 "in addition to the 10".

Hamilton's fifth engine was his first over the season's allowance of four, at the same 10 places Lando Norris paid at Spa for a fourth control electronics unit.

Ten places plus the sixth engine's five comes to 15, which leaves him inside clause i. Any further 10-place element takes him over the line. Ferrari's statement mentions checks on the unit and no calculation, but the rule set the price: the other six elements together cost one grid slot.

Verstappen and Perez sit in the same clause on identical grounds. Document 33 charges Verstappen 30 places for a fifth engine, turbocharger and exhaust set, and Document 39 charges Perez 30 for a fifth engine, fifth turbocharger and fourth MGU-K, all 10-place first overruns. Each document sends its car to B2.5.4b.iv.

Qualifying alone then ordered the three, and Verstappen's own decision settled it. He set the third-fastest lap of Q1, 1:31.238, then sat out Q2 to save wet tyres, with rain forecast for Sunday. The final classification ranks him 16th, last of those who went through. Hamilton also stopped running in Q2, GPblog reported, but only after setting 1:30.001, and that time made him 11th and put him one slot ahead on Sunday. Perez, 21st on 1:34.509, was the one who started last. Verstappen still climbed from 21st to second on Sunday.

Gabriel Bortoleto marks how hard the clause bites. He was classified last on 1:41.564, then took a 10-place drop on race day in Document 57, and started 19th, ahead of all three. Clause iv puts its drivers behind "any other classified driver", so a driver whose Q1 lap, set nine minutes before Hamilton's in a rain-hit session, was 9.898 seconds slower lined up in front of him.

On 10 places Hamilton's sum is 21, but the grid closes up. The 15 cars with no penalty, plus George Russell and Charles Leclerc on theirs, fill the first 17 slots, so he starts 18th. On 14 or 15 he falls behind Arvid Lindblad, whose 14th plus 10 comes to 24, and starts 19th. On 16 or anything higher he starts 20th. Run through the published qualifying order and penalties, the rule reproduces the FIA's final grid exactly. The afternoon cost Hamilton two slots: one for the engine, one for everything else.

B8.2.10 lets only the last element fitted at an event go forward without further penalty, so the fifth engine, which cost 10 places and ran one session, cannot return without a fresh one. Every element type has now taken its 10-place first overrun, so under B8.2.8b each further one costs five. Clauses i and iv both count unserved penalties from the previous 12 months, a word Section B does not define, so the regulations do not settle whether any of Hamilton's surplus is still owed. If none is, one new element at Las Vegas on 21 November costs five places, three cost 15, and a fourth puts him behind every classified driver again.