A dusty and bumpy Interlagos circuit offered drivers little in the way of grip as Lando Norris went quickest in the sole practice session of the weekend.
Norris was quickest ahead of George Russell, while Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were down in 15th and 16th place, respectively.
The drivers had just this single hour to get their cars quickly dialled in to the circuit before they would be locked in for the two sprint sessions that were to follow. A job that was made for difficult for them as the circuit was entirely repaved prior to the grand prix weekend and offered minimal natural grip as the drivers headed out for the first time.
With Kevin Magnussen sidelined by illness, Oliver Bearman took to the Haas to prepare for what would be at least a sprint race participation and likely the entire weekend. All of the teams headed out on medium tyres for the start of the session, except for the two RBs of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, who opted for softs.
Several drivers complained early about how bumpy the circuit was, with many cars visually bouncing down the circuit and leaving the tell-tale signs of plank dust on the dark new asphalt.
Sergio Perez set the initial pace in the session with a 1’12.099, but that was beaten by team mate Max Verstappen, who posted a 1’11.712, while the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell moved up to second and third, respectively. Russell was the first of the medium runners to switch over to softs, immediately going a second quicker than Verstappen’s previous best.
Entering the final ten minutes, most drivers switched over to the soft compounds, but only Hamilton remained on the mediums. Norris went quickest of all with a 1’10.610, which would prove the fastest lap of the hour, almost two tenths quicker than Russell’s earlier time.
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Bearman took the third-fastest time as the session came to an end, ahead of Oscar Piastri, Alexander Albon and the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr. Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly completed the top ten.
Three big names were well outside of the top ten at the chequered flag, namely both Red Bull drivers, Verstappen and Perez, who were down in 15th and 19th, respectively. The third was Hamilton in 16th, albeit without a single lap on the softs. Hamilton complained about “pain” in his car over the radio before the session ended, presumably in connection with the rough…
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