News Summary
- Lando Norris set a 1:11.717 to beat Andrea Kimi Antonelli by 0.082s in opening practice at Interlagos. Max Verstappen was third after complaining about the Red Bull’s gearshifts and steering wheel.
- McLaren was the only team to declare upgrades for the São Paulo Grand Prix, bringing revised wings and floor details. The session stayed dry despite the threat of rain, with low grip catching out several drivers.
- Gabriel Bortoleto finished eighth, while Rafael Câmara completed 29 laps on his first outing of the weekend for Haas. Colton Herta also logged 29 laps, clearing the distance requirement for the final point he needs towards an FIA super licence.
Lando Norris waited until the final 20 minutes of opening practice to put McLaren’s upgraded MCL40 on top at the São Paulo Grand Prix. Andrea Kimi Antonelli had just taken the lead from Max Verstappen with a lap that was 0.154s quicker than the Red Bull’s best. Norris made his time through the first two sectors at Interlagos and crossed the line in 1:11.717, beating Antonelli by 0.082s. The order held to the chequered flag, with Verstappen third after an hour in which he repeatedly complained about the Red Bull’s gearshifts and steering wheel.
McLaren was the only team to declare upgrades for the weekend. Its Interlagos package includes a new front wing designed to improve airflow towards the floor, a revised rear wing and beam wing designed to work together, and a change to the floor’s aerodynamic details. Norris had questioned before the weekend whether the new parts would make the MCL40 easier to drive. He was the only McLaren race driver on track in FP1, with Leonardo Fornaroli taking over Oscar Piastri’s car for the opening hour.
A slippery track and three leaders in the opening minutes
Rain had fallen in São Paulo the previous night, and the threat of another shower hung over FP1. The session stayed dry, with an air temperature of 24°C, a track temperature of 41°C and humidity at 76%. Almost everyone went out when the pit lane opened, and Hamilton was among the first to report how slippery the surface felt. Ferrari stand-in Dino Beganovic missed his braking point at Turn 12 and had to steer around Oliver Bearman’s Haas to avoid contact.
Verstappen set the early pace on hard tyres. With almost ten minutes gone, Hamilton took 0.043s off the Red Bull driver’s time on the same compound, going quickest with a 1:13.298. Antonelli, on mediums, then lowered the benchmark to 1:13.044. Verstappen responded by becoming the first driver into the 1:12s, going 0.085s quicker than the Mercedes.
Further back, Bortoleto had already put the Audi fifth with a 1:13.638. Câmara was working through his first laps for Haas at Interlagos, completing six before the interruption and setting a best of 1:16.123. Bearman was 11th at that point, with Câmara 17th as he built up to speed.
Slater loses his gears and brings out the red flag
The session stopped with 48 minutes remaining when Freddie Slater came to a halt in the Audi normally driven by Nico Hülkenberg. Slater reported over the radio that he had lost the gears and the car had gone into anti-stall. During the stoppage, replays showed Lance Stroll and Hamilton running wide at the Senna S, where drivers were still finding the braking limit on the low-grip surface.
The pit lane reopened with 40 minutes remaining, and most of the field went straight back out. Verstappen initially stayed in the garage, as did Stroll, Valtteri Bottas and Fornaroli. Antonelli took the opportunity to lower the benchmark to 1:12.789, still on mediums. Hamilton was third at that point, 0.457s off the Mercedes.
For Colton Herta, the interruption came with only eight laps completed in Sergio Pérez’s Cadillac. He needed 16 more to reach the distance target for a super licence point, and a possible infringement under the red flag drew the attention of the stewards. When the session resumed, Herta still had most of his mileage to complete.
Verstappen goes quickest on softs before Antonelli hits back
Verstappen returned on softs and cut the benchmark to 1:11.953. The lap came amid repeated complaints about the RB22’s gearshifts, which he called “unacceptable” over the radio. Franco Colapinto briefly put Alpine third on the same compound, giving the Argentine fans in the grandstands something to cheer before he slowed on the climb at Laranjinha and continued.
Antonelli had a setback on softs when he locked up heavily at the first part of the Senna S and flat-spotted his left-front tyre. Bortoleto then moved up to second with 24 minutes remaining, about six tenths off Verstappen. It was the Audi driver’s strongest position of the hour and built on the pace he had already shown on mediums.
Antonelli’s next move came with the fastest first and third sectors, taking him back to the top with a 1:11.799. Hamilton came within around two tenths of that time on his next attempt and went third, with Russell fourth and Bortoleto dropping to fifth. On his own soft-tyre run, Câmara climbed to 15th, eight tenths behind Bearman, who was eighth at the time.
Norris went quickest shortly afterwards. His advantage came in the first two sectors, where he found enough time to beat a Mercedes lap that had been strongest in sectors one and three. Hamilton and Russell ended up fourth and fifth behind Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar sixth. Gabriele Minì was seventh for Alpine, the highest finisher among the six drivers brought in for FP1. Bortoleto’s 1:12.614 earned him eighth, with Colapinto ninth and Liam Lawson tenth.
Câmara builds up to speed as Herta reaches his mileage target
Câmara finished 18th with 29 laps, using the opening hour to learn Interlagos and get accustomed to the Haas. He will continue with the team in FP2 as part of his first full Grand Prix weekend. The six drivers brought in for FP1, including Minì, Fornaroli and Slater, were in for the opening session only.
Herta also reached 29 laps, taking him to just under 125km. He had arrived on 39 super licence points and needed at least 24 laps at Interlagos to clear the 100km requirement. He met that condition. The point would take him to 40 if credited, with the outcome of the red-flag matter still to be confirmed. Reaching 40 points would allow him to apply for the full FIA super licence.
F1 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix FP1 results
| Pos. | Driver | Team Engine | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | L. NORRIS | McLaren Mercedes | 1:11.717 | — |
| 2 | A. K. ANTONELLI | Mercedes | 1:11.799 | +0.082 |
| 3 | M. VERSTAPPEN | Red Bull RBPT-Ford | 1:11.953 | +0.236 |
| 4 | L. HAMILTON | Ferrari | 1:12.041 | +0.324 |
| 5 | G. RUSSELL | Mercedes | 1:12.103 | +0.386 |
| 6 | I. HADJAR | Red Bull RBPT-Ford | 1:12.156 | +0.439 |
| 7 | G. MINÌ | Alpine Mercedes | 1:12.569 | +0.852 |
| 8 | G. BORTOLETO | Audi | 1:12.614 | +0.897 |
| 9 | F. COLAPINTO | Alpine Mercedes | 1:12.654 | +0.937 |
| 10 | L. LAWSON | Racing Bulls RBPT-Ford | 1:12.715 | +0.998 |
| 11 | L. FORNAROLI | McLaren Mercedes | 1:12.833 | +1.116 |
| 12 | O. BEARMAN | Haas Ferrari | 1:12.837 | +1.120 |
| 13 | F. ALONSO | Aston Martin Honda | 1:13.017 | +1.300 |
| 14 | A. LINDBLAD | Racing Bulls RBPT-Ford | 1:13.038 | +1.321 |
| 15 | V. BOTTAS | Cadillac Ferrari | 1:13.371 | +1.654 |
| 16 | A. ALBON | Williams Mercedes | 1:13.511 | +1.794 |
| 17 | L. BROWNING | Williams Mercedes | 1:13.591 | +1.874 |
| 18 | R. CÂMARA | Haas Ferrari | 1:13.696 | +1.979 |
| 19 | L. STROLL | Aston Martin Honda | 1:13.760 | +2.043 |
| 20 | C. HERTA | Cadillac Ferrari | 1:14.275 | +2.558 |
| 21 | D. BEGANOVIC | Ferrari | 1:14.357 | +2.640 |
| 22 | F. SLATER | Audi | 1:14.966 | +3.249 |
FP2 is scheduled for 16:00 local time on Friday (19:00 GMT, 14:00 ET). With no sprint at Interlagos this weekend, the teams have a third practice session on Saturday before qualifying.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix live from Interlagos in Formula 1, with Evelyn Guimarães, Luana Marino, Vicente Soella and Daniel Balsa reporting from the circuit.
