New world champion Kimi Antonelli dominated Friday’s second free practice session at the Brazilian GP, ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in Sao Paulo.
On the classic 4.3km Interlagos circuit, Antonelli set his best time just before the halfway point of FP2 as the drivers moved to the soft tyres, with the Italian going faster than Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Although fans intermittently searched for their ponchos, light drops of rain never really lingered on what must have been the clearest day of a rainy weekend. But the cooler, overcast conditions affected running in different ways, with Lewis Hamilton saying he “couldn’t get the tire temperature up”. Hamilton was one of several drivers to lock the left front wheel approaching the heavily cambered Turn 1.
Antonelli, who became F1’s youngest world champion last weekend in Mexico, suffered from heavy tailgating on a bumpy track, but still managed to lead the opening laps on hard tires with a lap of 1’11.8”.
After a quieter period, the paddock collectively unpacked Pirelli’s soft tire compound. Russell, who has a five-place grid penalty hanging over his weekend for switching to a new engine, won with a lap of 1m11.016s, before being demoted by Norris and Verstappen.
Antonelli, Russell’s Mercedes partner, went even faster, going under 1m11 with an effort of 1m10.763s. It was a quarter of a second faster than three drivers from three different teams, such is the convergence of performances towards the end of the 2026 season.
In the upgraded McLaren MCL40, fitted with a new front wing, Norris took second place with a lap of 1m11.016s, 0.006s ahead of third-placed Verstappen, who caused some hilarity with his radio complaints about his Red Bull’s clutch.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Russell and Oscar Piastri all followed within a tenth of Norris to complete the top five. Ferrari, often strong from the start on Friday, had an unusually quiet start in Brazil. After going fastest in the first sector, Hamilton settled for sixth with teammate Charles Leclerc seventh, with Leclerc regretting being hampered on the straight by Haas debutant Rafael Camara.
Driving a dark green Audi, Gabriel Bortoleto finished eighth on home soil, with Isack Hadjar and Haas driver Oliver Bearman completing the top 10.
Camara ultimately took 16th place, half a second behind his teammate, as the 2027 Haas signing completed his first full day as a Grand Prix driver replacing ousted Esteban Ocon.
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg remained stuck in the garage after undisclosed problems affecting Freddie Slater, his FP1 replacement, earlier on Friday.
Brazilian GP F1: FP2 results
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5-minute survey.
– The Motorsport.com team
Gn sports
