Mercedes F1 star George Russell has been hit with another grid penalty at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the FIA has confirmed.

With just four scheduled grands prix to go, it is the time of the campaign when we see drivers regularly exceeding the number of power unit components that they are allowed, with Russell set to be the latest to do so this weekend.

That will result in a mandatory penalty from the FIA, just as was the case at the Singapore Grand Prix, when Russell was hit with a 60-place grid drop after changing multiple components.

This time around, it won’t be that severe, but it is also not ideal for the man looking to end his season in the strongest possible way after being beaten to the world championship by his less experienced teammate Kimi Antonelli.

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George Russell set for five-place grid penalty at Brazilian GP

After fitting his sixth internal combustion (ICE) engine of the year, the FIA has confirmed that Russell has been hit with a five-place grid drop for breaching Articles B8.2.2a (read with B8.2.3) of the FIA F1 Regulations.

Russell, though, confirmed this was a planned move from the team this weekend, and is looking towards former team-mate Lewis Hamilton for inspiration that it won’t ruin his Brazilian Grand Prix.

“I mean, we always had to take a grid penalty at some point between Singapore – obviously we took one in Singapore – but from Singapore until the end of the season,” Russell confirmed in Sao Paulo. “We felt like this was a good place to take it.”

“Obviously Lewis had a big grid penalty here a number of years ago and did pretty well,” Russell added. “Five places doesn’t seem that bad, and we’ll try to come back through.”

Russell can also draw inspiration from big comebacks for Max Verstappen at Interlagos in recent years.

Last season, the four-time world champion secured P3 and a podium spot having started in the pit lane, while in 2024 he won the race having lined up down in P17.

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Sky Sports have unveiled the newest member of their F1 coverage team, who will be joining them as soon as this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Alexa Rendell has officially joined the team as a new ‘F1 Multimedia Journalist’, and will appear across Sky’s live TV and social media coverage at Interlagos this weekend as the 2026 season reaches its final stages.

Rendell has plenty of experience in the motorsport media world, having worked with Formula E, F1 Academy, WEC and the Alpine team prior to her new move to Sky.

Sky’s newest voice will join the crew for the last leg of the current triple-header, after Kimi Antonelli wrapped up the drivers’ title last time out in Mexico City.

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Rendell said of her hiring: “I’m really thrilled to be joining the Sky Sports F1 family. Formula 1 has always been my first love, and Sky has been part of my journey in the sport since I was a teenager, when I got my first taste of the industry through its access events. To now be joining the team feels like a really special full-circle moment.

“I can’t wait to get stuck in from Brazil and tell the stories that make this sport so incredible. With a new generation of fans coming into the sport, I’m really looking forward to helping connect with those audiences and sharing F1 in fresh and engaging ways.”

Billy McGinty, Sky Sports’ Director of F1, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Alexa to the team. She is a rising star in motorsport broadcasting and has an instinct for connecting with audiences.

“Formula 1 is evolving, with more people than ever discovering and connecting with the sport, and it’s important that our coverage evolves too – finding new ways to tell the stories and bring fans closer to the personalities and moments that make F1 so compelling.”

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Christian Horner‘s F1 return options have looked pretty limited in recent months but that is set to change.

The former Red Bull team principal of 20 years has been out of F1 since being sacked by the Milton Keynes team following the 2025 British Grand Prix last summer.

Horner insists he will never return as a team principal only, and is only interested in roles where he would be able to have a stake in the team – a thought process that helped him out of the door at Red Bull.

The one exception Horner has hinted he would make is a role at the legendary Ferrari team. After all, the man who helps make the Italian team winners again in a championship has immortality status at Maranello.

There is no obvious path to that right now, but Horner’s ambition has been met with few opportunities.

A move to buy Otro’s stake in Alpine was vetoed by Renault, with his old F1 rival Toto Wolff also looking to block his route to the team with a bid of his own.

There was flirtation with BYD over their proposed F1 entry, which has since gone cold.

Williams also looked like an excellent fit for Horner, but although he was known to have contacted every F1 team about a working opportunity, no wheels look in motion at Williams.

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Horner to Cadillac now on

Now though there looks to be a new prospect for Horner to return to F1, where he could really have a huge influence on proceedings.

Mark Walter is the owner of TWG Global who effectively run the Cadillac operation and is reportedly looking to sell the team less than a year into their first season.

He isn’t selling cheap. The reports claim that £3bn is the asking price, which is around the average for an F1 team, and Cadillac are still very much still in the teething stage when it comes to being a functioning F1 operation.

So potential is added on to the price but if there is one man who knows how to build a team from the bottom it’s Horner.

Ok, not quite so much from the bottom but the team Horner walked into in 2005 was in far from a good place.

Red Bull had only just bought the operation from Ford, who from 2000 to 2004 ran the Jaguar team.

It flopped badly, a big budget that never achieved more than being a midfield team. Much of it was blamed on processes with decision making at Ford HQ boardroom in the United States claimed to have been pivotal in slowing down operations.

Horner knows how to turn a team around

But Horner came in and slowly turned the team around. Signing Adrian Newey was key of course but within four years Red Bull had arguably the best car on the grid in 2009 even if they didn’t win the championship.

I don’t need to go into too much detail on what happens next with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, only that the championships racked up.

That’s not to say he could do the same at Cadillac in just four years. That’s a huge project to get off the ground given they are dead last in the championship, but he would be pivotal in getting the team to run in an optimal manner with key personnel. Horner after all is a winner.

There are reportedly seven bidders looking to buy Cadillac, and it really wouldn’t be a surprise if Horner with a consortium was one of them.

It’s a hard but almost perfect project for him. He would have the ownership, the influence, and in likelihood the budget to fill a void and build a successful US F1 team.

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