Marco Rossi · F1 Correspondent
Lando Norris set the fastest lap in first practice for the São Paulo Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen complained loudly about his gearbox and a red flag briefly halted the session.
Lando Norris topped first practice for the São Paulo Grand Prix on Friday. At the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, the McLaren driver set a best time of 1:11.717 and beat newly crowned world champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli into second by 0.082 seconds. Norris was driving the upgraded McLaren, the only team to bring a substantial update to Interlagos. Max Verstappen was third but complained loudly over the radio about unacceptable downshifts on his Red Bull. The session was also stopped early when Audi rookie Freddie Slater pulled over with a technical problem and brought out the red flag.
Eight hundredths between Norris and Antonelli
Eight hundredths separated Norris and Antonelli at the end of the session, a gap that shows the title fight may be settled but the battle for pace between McLaren and Mercedes is not. Antonelli arrives in Brazil as the youngest world champion in history, his title having been sealed on the Mexico weekend. That he was still right with Norris on Friday suggests Mercedes have lost none of their hunger.
Within McLaren, attention turned to the second car: Leonardo Fornaroli, who took over Oscar Piastri's car for first practice, was 1.116 seconds off Norris and only eleventh. How much of McLaren's advantage comes from the update and how much from the driver cannot be read from a single session with a stand-in, though. Fornaroli was not the only substitute: Dino Beganovic drove the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who arrived late after the birth of his daughter, Gabriele Mini took Pierre Gasly's Alpine and Luke Browning Carlos Sainz's Williams.
Verstappen criticises the gearbox, Hadjar keeps in touch
Max Verstappen ended up 0.236 seconds off Norris, but what irritated him more was the feel of the car itself. Over the radio he complained about the downshifts on his Red Bull, and as the session went on the steering also became heavier. That team-mate Isack Hadjar finished sixth, just 0.203 seconds behind Verstappen, suggests Red Bull were competitive overall, even if the set-up was not yet there on Friday.
Mercedes took a blow of a different kind, though not from the session itself: George Russell will start the race with a five-place grid penalty after a power unit change, his second grid drop in four races. It is another setback for him in a tough year, while his team-mate already has the title in the bag.
Red flag for Slater, home debut for Câmara
After around 15 minutes race control had to show the red flag when Audi rookie Freddie Slater stopped with a technical problem. For the young driver, who took over Nico Hülkenberg's car for first practice, it was the second setback in a row: in Mexico he had been sent out with a cooling fan left in the sidepod. Colton Herta at least used the session in Sergio Pérez's Cadillac to collect the last missing point for his superlicence, a formality, but an important step with a possible full-time seat in 2027 in mind.
Two Brazilians gave the home crowd something to cheer: Gabriel Bortoleto, eighth in the Audi, and Rafael Câmara, who made his Formula 1 debut for Haas at his home race after Haas removed Esteban Ocon from the cockpit for the rest of the season during the Mexico weekend. Câmara slotted in 18th, but drove into his first Grand Prix weekend in front of his own fans, an experience that cannot be measured in tenths of a second. Second practice in the afternoon and qualifying on Saturday will show whether Norris can hold on to his narrow advantage, while Red Bull will be working on Verstappen's shifting problems before the points are handed out on Sunday.
