News Summary
- Lance Stroll missed Thursday’s media duties at Interlagos while recovering from a viral infection contracted in Mexico.
- Charles Leclerc stayed in Monaco for the birth of his daughter and is travelling to São Paulo on Thursday.
- Dino Beganovic will drive Leclerc’s Ferrari in FP1 as part of a rookie outing arranged before the weekend.
Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc missed Thursday’s media day at Interlagos ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix. Aston Martin said Stroll was recovering from a viral infection contracted in Mexico and expected him back in the paddock on Friday. Ferrari confirmed that Leclerc was travelling to Brazil on Thursday after staying in Monaco for the birth of his daughter.
The two absences have different implications for Friday. Aston Martin expects Stroll to return in time for the first day of running. Ferrari had already set aside Leclerc’s opening practice session for reserve driver Dino Beganovic, giving the Monegasque until the afternoon session before his first scheduled opportunity to drive.
Aston Martin expects Stroll back on Friday
Stroll completed Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix before developing symptoms. Aston Martin said on Thursday that he was recovering well and that it was confident he would return to the paddock the following day. The team’s update covered his recovery and expected return.
Fernando Alonso was listed in the second group of Thursday’s FIA press conference alongside Arvid Lindblad and Max Verstappen. The opening group featured Franco Colapinto and the two Brazilian drivers on the grid this weekend, Gabriel Bortoleto and Haas debutant Rafael Câmara.
Stroll’s absence follows a weekend in which illness disrupted several drivers’ off-track commitments. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Valtteri Bottas missed media duties in Mexico City, while Sergio Pérez sat out a fan appearance at his home Grand Prix. All three went on to race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Ferrari had already booked Beganovic for first practice
Leclerc returned to Monaco after finishing fourth in the Mexican Grand Prix. He and his wife Alexandra announced on Wednesday that their daughter, Bianca, had been born the previous day. Ferrari confirmed to PlanetF1 that Leclerc would travel to São Paulo on Thursday, the day drivers were due at Interlagos for their media commitments.
Beganovic’s assignment was already on Ferrari’s programme under F1’s mandatory rookie running rules. The Swede will make his first appearance at Interlagos and his third FP1 outing of the season after driving in Barcelona and Austria. He is one of six reserves taking over from regular race drivers in São Paulo FP1.
Under the São Paulo Grand Prix schedule, first practice begins at 12:30 local time on Friday, with FP2 at 16:00. Ferrari will have Beganovic’s feedback from the opening session when Leclerc is due to get his first laps of the weekend. A third practice session at 11:30 on Saturday offers another hour of running before qualifying at 15:00.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is covering every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix live from Interlagos. Follow our on-site coverage in Formula 1.
