Norris leads Antonelli and Verstappen in Sao Paulo FP1

Lando Norris wasted no time laying down the marker at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, taking the top spot in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The McLaren driver punched in a 1m 11.717s on Friday in Brazil, leaving himself 0.082s clear of new World Champion Kimi Antonelli. Max Verstappen slotted into third, sitting just over two tenths back from the pace.

It was a busy pit lane with a heavy rookie presence, as six regular drivers watched trackside while young talent took over their machines. Leonardo Fornaroli stepped into Oscar Piastri's McLaren, Freddie Slater took the wheel of Nico Hulkenberg's Audi, and Colton Herta climbed into Sergio Perez's Cadillac. For Herta, the session carried immense weight as the former IndyCar winner needed to secure one more Super Licence point to keep any 2027 grid hopes alive. Rafael Camara also made his Formula 1 debut in front of his home crowd after being promoted early to a race seat at Haas for next season. Camara headed out immediately when the pit lane light turned green at 1600 local time alongside a rush of cars eager for dry running before potential rain.

The limits of the circuit were tested almost instantly. Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Lewis Hamilton, and Herta all locked up and ran wide at Turn 1 inside the first ten minutes. Soon after, a red flag halted proceedings when Slater brought his Audi to a stop on track, compounding his reliability frustrations after a curtailed weekend in Mexico. Approaching the 20-minute mark, Antonelli took control of the timing screens with a 1m 12.789s on Pirelli's medium tyre before trimming it to a 1m 12.777s.

Verstappen shook up the order near the halfway point by bolting on the first set of soft tyres, firing in a 1m 11.953s while immediately complaining over the radio that his downshifts were "unacceptable." Antonelli's first soft-tyre run hit trouble with a lock-up at Turn 1, but he recovered on his next effort with a 1m 11.799s. Mercedes team-mate George Russell—facing a five-place grid penalty for an internal combustion engine change—wound up three tenths adrift in fourth, sitting just behind the Ferrari of Hamilton.

Norris then delivered the decisive blow with his 1m 11.717s flyer, right as Albon's session met a premature end with 20 minutes remaining due to a power steering failure on his Williams. Norris stayed untouchable until the chequered flag dropped as teams pivoted to long runs. The top six finished with Norris, Antonelli, Verstappen (who reported his steering was stiffening up), Hamilton, Russell, and the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar.

Further down the order, rookie Gabriele Mini put in a strong seventh for Alpine, followed by home hero Gabriel Bortoleto in the Audi, the second Alpine of Franco Colapinto, and Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls. Fornaroli took P11 ahead of Ollie Bearman's Haas, Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls, and Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillac. Albon settled in P16 ahead of Williams team-mate Luke Browning (driving in place of Carlos Sainz), Camara, Stroll, and Herta. Dino Beganovic suffered floor-removal delays in Charles Leclerc's Ferrari, while Slater brought up the rear of the field.