Here's the thing about momentum: when a driver has it, everything just clicks. Less than one week on from securing his maiden World Championship, Kimi Antonelli wasted zero time getting back to work, ending Friday right at the top of the timesheets in Sao Paulo.
It was a properly strong first day on track for the newly-crowned champion with Mercedes. Things started brightly in Free Practice 1, where Antonelli narrowly missed out on setting the absolute pace. He placed just 0.082s behind Lando Norris, who managed to pip him to the top spot in that opening session.
Not one to stay down, the Mercedes machine was dialled in for the afternoon. Antonelli bounced right back by going fastest of all later on in second practice.
That said, the margins across the top four teams are looking incredibly fine. Can Mercedes stay ahead as the Sao Paulo weekend progresses? Friday gave us the speed, but the real test is still to come.
F1
F1
