News Summary

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was the only driver to lap Interlagos in under 1:11 on Friday, but he left practice expecting a closer fight for São Paulo Grand Prix pole. His 1:10.763 on soft tyres put him 0.253s clear of Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen another 0.006s behind.

It was a reversal of the opening practice order. Norris had led FP1 with a 1:11.717, beating Antonelli by 0.082s. Mercedes found a better balance for the second session, and Antonelli lowered his own best time by 1.036s.

“It was a positive day overall and I felt good in the car, particularly on the single lap runs,” Antonelli said.

“The conditions were quite tricky with the low grip, and it wasn’t easy to find the right balance, but I think we made some good progress between FP1 and FP2.

“There is still more to improve with both the car and my driving, so we’ll work through everything tonight and see what we can find for tomorrow.”

How Antonelli reclaimed the lead on soft tyres

Antonelli had set the early pace in FP2 on hard tyres. George Russell then went fastest with a 1:11.036 as teams switched to softs for their qualifying runs. Norris took another 0.020s off that time, with Verstappen slotting between them.

Antonelli’s lap took Mercedes back to the top, and the order held as teams switched to longer runs. Russell finished fourth, just 0.020s behind Norris, with Oscar Piastri fifth in the other McLaren. That left the three teams immediately behind Antonelli much closer to one another than any of them had been to his best lap.

Why Antonelli still expects Ferrari to be in the pole fight

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished sixth and seventh for Ferrari in FP2. Hamilton was 0.450s off Antonelli’s benchmark, but the Mercedes driver pointed to Ferrari’s ability to find more speed when the grid is decided.

“It looks very close at the front,” Antonelli said.

“McLaren and Red Bull look strong, and we know Ferrari can often find something extra when we get to qualifying, so I expect it to be a really tight fight.

“The weather could also play a part. It’s very difficult to predict at the moment, so we need to be ready for anything and react quickly if the conditions change.”

The fastest laps on Friday came before light rain reached the circuit late in FP2. The forecast for Saturday at Interlagos points to a greater risk of rain around qualifying, which starts at 15:00 local time after a third practice session in the morning.

Antonelli takes his first weekend as champion one session at a time

São Paulo is Antonelli’s first Grand Prix weekend since he clinched the drivers’ championship in Mexico City. He said his focus was on carrying Friday’s progress into the final hour of practice before qualifying.

“After the highs of Mexico, I’m just focusing on each session as it comes this weekend but I am enjoying things so far,” Antonelli said.

“Hopefully we can take another step tomorrow and put ourselves in a good position for qualifying and continue that feeling.”

GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix in Formula 1 live from Interlagos.