Lando Norris was fastest in the first practice ahead of this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix; the outgoing world champion set an 11.717, eight hundredths faster than the incoming champion, Kimi Antonelli. Max Verstappen put his Red Bull third, but he was a tenth and a half behind.
Norris, using an aerodynamic upgrade based on new wings and a modification to the floor, was 0.082 seconds clear of the Mercedes. Antonelli and Verstappen had tipped the McLaren to be a threat this weekend, and the Englishman set his fastest time later in the session.
Despite most teams focusing on their 2027 cars, McLaren have brought a new front wing, rear wing, beam wing and floor furniture to the car, and it appears to have made an immediate impact. The team believes that pushing late on developing this car will help them in developing next year’s car
Mercedes can win the Constructors’ Championship this weekend if they outscore Ferrari by three points, or more, with Antonelli already crowned world champion last weekend following his podium in Mexico. Antonelli is honouring three-time F1 world champion Ayrton Senna with a special helmet in tribute to the Brazilian.
However, none appeared happy with their cars, most vocally Verstappen, as he complained about downshifts on his RB22, while nearly all struggled throughout the session with lock-ups.
Lewis Hamilton made it four world champions locked out the top four, as he put his Ferrari almost nine hundredths behind the Dutchman; six hundredths faster than his former teammate George Russell. Russell put his Mercedes half a tenth faster than the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar, as four and a half tenths separated the top four teams.
Charles Leclerc was the only driver not in action, having fulfilled his mandatory second FP1 given to a young driver, Dino Beganovic, who finished twenty-first. Leclerc arrived in Sao Paulo on Friday, having taken part of his paternity leave following the birth on Tuesday of his daughter, Biancia.
It was a strong start to his home Grand Prix for Gabriel Bortoleto; he put his Audi best of the midfield, and he went four hundredths faster than fellow South American Franco Colapinto. Liam Lawson completed the top ten as he went six hundredths behind the Argentine.
Leonardo Fornaroli, who replaced Oscar Piastri, missed out on the top ten by just over a tenth, as the Italian went four thousandths faster than Ollie Bearman. But Fornaroli was over a second off teammate Norris’s session-topping time and two tenths off fellow rookie Mini.
But one of the big talking points was fellow young driver Colton Herta, who is tipped to replace Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac. The Mexican, crucially, completed 100km around Interlagos to gain another Super Licence point. That takes him to 40 super licence points overall, which is the minimum a driver needs to be eligible to race full-time.
Although Bottas signed a multi-year contract, which started at the start of 2026, his future at Cadillac is uncertain after a difficult season in comparison to teammate Sergio Perez. Cadillac are seemingly keen to have an American driver in one of their seats, and now have the option to replace Bottas with Herta.
Bearman put his Haas just under half a hundredth behind; Fernando Alonso split two Englishmen as he went almost two tenths behind. Bearman’s new teammate Rafael Camara has been handed an early debut after Esteban Ocon’s departure in Mexico City; the Soa Pauler put himself eighteenth.
Fernando Alonso put himself two hundredths faster than Arvid Lindblad, with Bottas three tenths further behind. Alex Albon put his Williams eight hundredths ahead of reserve driver Luke Browning, with the duo a tenth faster than Camara.
However, Browning’s running was limited due to an unknown issue; Beganovic joined him, having damaged the floor of his Ferrari. Lance Stroll was half a second ahead of Herta, with Beganovic eight hundredths behind.
Hopes of a better session than last week in Mexico City didn’t last long for Freddie Slater. The Englishman only managed seven laps before his Audi stopped in the middle sector with a gearbox issue.
