FP1: Norris beats Russell and Bearman in sole practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
McLaren driver Lando Norris ended up quickest in the sole one-hour practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, narrowly beating George Russell and Oliver Bearman. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo reports on the sole one-hour practice session.
With the Sao Paulo Grand Prix running under the sprint weekend format, drivers had only a single one-hour practice session to nail the setup of their car for the sprint qualifying and the sprint race itself.
After drivers spent the opening part of Free Practice 1 on Pirelli's medium tyres, most of them bolted on a set of red-walled tyres for the closing stages of the session to nail their setup for the sprint qualifying. McLaren's Lando Norris ultimately come out on top thanks to his effort of 1m 10.610s on soft tyres, a couple of tenths up on Russell
Oliver Bearman, who is replacing the unwell Kevin Magnussen on Friday, took an impressive third, with Oscar Piastri ending up fourth.
Williams driver Alexander Albon set the third quickest lap, while the Ferrari racers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz struggled for one-lap pace, taking only sixth and seventh.
The other Haas of Nico Hulkenberg finished eighth, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly having completed the top 10.
Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda set their best times on the medium rubber, taking P11 and P12 respectively, with Kick Sauber's Valtteri Bottas ending up in P13.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen led the way with a 1m 11.712s on medium tyres, but ended up only in P 14 after bailing out of his soft-tyre qualifying simulation lap. The Dutchman will take a grid penalty this weekend after exceeding his power unit allocation.
Lewis Hamilton looked strong in the initial stages of the session, but he refused to bolt on a set of soft tyres. As a result of his decision, the seven-time world champion ended up in P15, with Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu having completed the FP1 order.
