F1 braces for more Verstappen-Norris drama and Hamilton to drive Senna's car

SAO PAULO (AP) — Max Verstappen suggests he won’t change his aggressive driving this weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix as he bids for a fourth successive Formula 1 title.

Lando Norris needs a win at Interlagos in Sao Paulo to maintain any realistic title hopes.

New elements could spice up the clash between the drivers, who have received penalties in the past two races in Austin, Texas and Mexico for their boldness on the track. Interlagos has a new tarmac, rain is expected all weekend, and Verstappen received a five-place penalty on the grid after he and Red Bull decided to use a new engine.

Friday's free practice was not a good omen for Verstappen; he finished 15th, more than one second behind Norris, who clocked the best lap in his McLaren. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who also has a shot at the title, was sixth.

The sprint race qualifier in the afternoon was better for Verstappen; he was fourth but almost one second behind leader and Norris teammate Oscar Piastri. Norris was second.

Saturday will feature the penultimate sprint race of the season and a tribute to three-time world champion Ayrton Senna, who died 30 years ago. Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton will drive a McLaren once steered by Senna in front of 60,000 fans.

Norris closed the gap on Verstappen to 47 points in Mexico after a furious encounter that caused penalties to the Dutchman amounting to 20 seconds. The British driver was penalized in the previous race at the U.S. Grand Prix as he battled the defending champion.

Leclerc, 70 points behind Verstappen, told media on Thursday he was not expecting a leading performance by his team this weekend.

The Monegasque driver also had to face the stewards in Brazil for swearing in a press conference after the Mexican GP last weekend. He was fined 10,000 euros (almost $11,000), of which half is suspended as long as there is no further breach of a similar nature within the next 12 months.

“During the hearing Leclerc expressed his regret for his momentary lack of judgment and shared that he understood his responsibility as a role model for the sport," the stewards' decision said.

Verstappen was punished with one day of community service for the same reason during the Singapore GP.

Verstappen said in Mexico that F1 has become over-policed. Upon his arrival in Brazil, he said he didn’t care about critics of his aggressive driving. Though he and Norris claim to have a respectful relationship, another showdown is expected between the two in Sunday’s race. The McLarens are expected to have the upper hand.

Verstappen has won twice at the 84-year-old Interlagos circuit, including last year, when Norris finished second.

Verstappen's last victory was 10 races ago in Spain in June, after a period of seven wins in the first 10 races.

“We want to do well, but of course it also needs to be possible. We still have a good lead,” Verstappen said. "I just try to enjoy the moment, try to just always optimize the performance.”

The earliest the title could be won by Verstappen is in Las Vegas on Nov. 24. For Norris to have a chance, he will likely have to take the title fight to the December finale in Abu Dhabi.

Norris' bid is a tough one, and McLaren has a better chance of dethroning Red Bull in the constructors' championship. Ferrari jumped ahead of Red Bull to second in the standings after Carlos Sainz Jr.'s win in Mexico.

Red Bull, which has won the last two constructors’ titles, is third.

Another challenge for drivers at Interlagos is the new asphalt. McLaren's Piastri was not excited about it on the first day of practice.

“I think everybody was thrown off a bit by just how bumpy the track was,” Piastri said.

For the second time in his life, Mercedes' Hamilton will be on board a McLaren once driven by Senna, who died in 1994 after crashing during the San Marino GP.

Hamilton will steer Senna’s title-winning MP4/5B after Saturday's sprint race. Weeks ago, Honda and McLaren said they would bring the car that allowed the Brazilian to clinch the 1990 drivers' championship.

During his time at McLaren, Hamilton drove Senna's MP4/4 car around Silverstone in 2009 for a British TV program.

“It will be an emotional experience,” Hamilton said in Sao Paulo. He arrived at Interlagos for Thursday's media day wearing a shirt that read “rest in peace, Ayrton Senna” and pants in the color of the Brazilian flag.

“Every time we come here it’s an opportunity to do that (honor Senna), and I think so many of the drivers also do that," Hamilton said. “But I never in a million years thought I’d ever get to drive Senna’s car here."

Not everyone was excited about Hamilton driving Senna's car.

“We have a lot of love for Hamilton, but he will be racing anyway,” former driver Rubens Barrichello told TV Band. ”I have Interlagos in my heart. The thing is, I think it should be a Brazilian driver."

Senna won six races in the season he drove the car that Hamilton will steer around Interlagos. He beat Alain Prost, then at Ferrari, by seven points that year.

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Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain celebrates after winning the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, center, and team celebrate his second-place finish in the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, of Australia, smiles during a press conference ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

A crew member works on the car of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, speaks during a press conference ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Crew members work on the car of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina put Richard Moore to death by lethal injection Friday for the 1999 fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk, despite a broad appeal for mercy by parties that included three jurors and the judge from his trial, a former prison director, pastors and the his family.

Moore, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m.

Moore was convicted of killing the Spartanburg convivence store clerk in September 1999 and sentenced to death two years later. Moore went into the store unarmed, took a gun from the victim when it was pointed at him and fatally shot him in the chest as the victim shot him with a second gun in the arm.

Moore’s lawyers asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to reduce his sentence to life in prison without parole because of his spotless prison record and willingness to be a mentor to other inmates. They also said it would be unjust to execute someone for what could be considered self-defense and unfair that Moore, who is Black, was the only inmate on the state’s death row convicted by a jury without any African Americans.

But McMaster refused to grant clemency. No South Carolina governor has reduced a death sentence, and 45 executions have now been carried out since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to restart executions nearly 50 years ago.

Unlike in previous executions, the curtain to the death chamber was open when media witnesses arrived. Moore's last words had already been read by Lindsey Vann, his lawyer of 10 years.

Moore had his eyes closed and his head was pointed toward the ceiling. A prison employee announced the execution could begin at 6:01 p.m. Moore took several deep breaths that sounded like snores over the next minute. Then he took some shallow breaths until about 6:04, when his breathing stopped. Moore showed no obvious signs of discomfort.

Vann cried as the employee announced the execution could start. She clutched a prayer bracelet with a cross. Sitting beside her was a spiritual advisor, his hands on his knees palms up. Vann clutched a prayer bracelet with a cross.

Two members of the victims' family were also present, along with Solicitor Barry Barnette, who was on the prosecution team that convicted Moore. They all watched stoically.

Afterward prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain read his last words at a news conference.

“To the family of Mr. James Mahoney, I am deeply sorry for the pain and sorrow I caused you all,” he said. “To my children and granddaughters, I love you and am so proud of you. Thank you for the joy you have brought to my life. To all of my family and friends, new and old, thank you for your love and support.”

His final meal was steak cooked medium, fried catfish and shrimp, scalloped potatoes, green peas, broccoli with cheese, sweet potato pie, German chocolate cake and grape juice.

Three jurors who condemned Moore to death in 2001, including one who wrote Friday, sent letters asking McMaster to change his sentence to life without parole. They were joined by a former state prison director, Moore's trial judge, his son and daughter, a half-dozen childhood friends and several pastors.

They all said Moore, 59, was a changed man who loved God, doted on his new grandchildren the best he could, helped guards keep the peace and mentored other prisoners after his addiction to drugs clouded his judgment and led to the shootout in which James Mahoney was killed, according to the clemency petition.

Moore previously had two execution dates postponed as the state sorted through issues that created a 13-year pause in the death penalty, including companies' refusal to sell the state lethal injection drugs, a hurdle that was solved by passing a secrecy law.

Moore is the second inmate executed in South Carolina since it resumed executions. Four more are out of appeals and the state appears ready to put them to death in five-week intervals through the spring. There are now 30 people on death row.

The governor said before the execution that he would carefully reviewing everything sent by Moore's lawyers and, as is customary, would wait until minutes before the execution starts to announce his decision once he hears by phone that all appeals are finished.

“Clemency is a matter of grace, a matter of mercy. There is no standard. There is no real law on it,” McMaster told reporters Thursday.

In an interview for a video that accompanied his clemency petition, Moore expressed remorse for the killing of Mahoney.

“This is definitely part of my life I wish I could change. I took a life. I took someone’s life. I broke the family of the deceased,” Moore said. “I pray for the forgiveness of that particular family.”

Prosecutors and Mahoney's relatives have not spoken publicly in the weeks leading up to the execution. In the past, family members have said they suffered deeply and want justice to be served.

Moore’s lawyers said his original attorneys did not analyze the crime scene carefully and left unchallenged prosecutors' contention that Moore, who came into the store unarmed, fired at a customer and that his intention from the start was a robbery.

According to their account, the clerk pulled a gun on Moore after the two argued because he was 12 cents short for what he wanted to buy.

Moore said he wrestled the gun from Mahoney's hand and the clerk pulled a second weapon. Moore was shot in the arm and fired back, hitting Mahoney in the chest. Moore then went behind the counter and stole about $1,400.

No one else on South Carolina’s death row started their crime unarmed and with no intention to kill, Moore’s current attorneys say.

Jon Ozmint, a former prosecutor who was director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections from 2003 to 2011 and who added his voice to those seeking clemency, said Moore's case was not the worst-of-the-worst kind of crime that would usually prompt a death penalty case.

There are plenty of people who were not sentenced to death but committed much more heinous crimes, Ozmint said, citing the example of Todd Kohlhepp, who was given a life sentence after pleading guilty to killing seven people including a woman he raped and tortured for days.

Lawyers for Moore, who is Black, also said his trial was not fair. There were no African Americans on the jury even though 20% of Spartanburg County residents were Black.

Moore’s son and daughter said he remained engaged in their lives. He once asked them about schoolwork and gave advice in letters. He now had grandchildren whom he saw on video calls.

“Even though my father has been away, that still has not stopped him from making a big impact on my life, a positive impact,” said Alexandria Moore, who joined the Air Force at her father’s encouragement.

This undated photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the execution room at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, S.C. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

This undated photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the witness room in the execution chamber at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, S.C. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

This photo provided by Justice 360 shows death row inmate Richard Moore at Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 17, 2018. (Justice 360 via AP)