Norris Edges New Champion Antonelli as Interlagos Serves Up a Tight First Practice

Lando Norris needed less than a tenth of a second to remind everyone that the championship may be decided, but the racing is far from done. The McLaren driver topped the opening practice session for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos on Friday, his 1 minute 11.717 seconds on soft tyres just 0.082 seconds clear of Kimi Antonelli, the teenager who sealed the world title in Mexico last weekend and was back on track for the first time as champion.

It was the kind of session that tells you plenty and nothing at the same time. The top six were covered by less than half a second, with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull, 0.236 seconds off Norris, Lewis Hamilton fourth in the fastest Ferrari, George Russell fifth, and Isack Hadjar sixth. Four different teams in the top four — the sort of closeness that makes Interlagos, a short lap where traffic and weather can turn everything upside down, so hard to predict.

Antonelli had the first word. After an early lock-up at Turn 1 cost him a run, the Mercedes driver went quickest on mediums, then again on softs, and for a while it looked as though the new champion would pick up exactly where he left off in Mexico. Verstappen then took his turn at the front with a 1:11.953 despite grumbling about his car, and only in the closing stages did Norris find the small margin that put McLaren ahead.

The hour was anything but straightforward. Six regular drivers watched from the pit wall while rookies and stand-ins took their cars, and the session was stopped early on when Freddie Slater's Audi ground to a halt between Turns 9 and 10 with what the team reported as a gearbox problem. Alex Albon's Williams also stopped late in the session with a loss of power steering, though he managed to guide the car behind the barriers without another lengthy delay.

Among the substitutes, the stories were worth following on their own. Rafael Camara, the Brazilian stepping into Esteban Ocon's Haas seat for his home race, finished 18th with a 1:13.696 as he built up slowly to an unexpected grand prix debut, and with Gabriel Bortoleto also on the grid it is the first time since 2016 that two Brazilians have raced at Interlagos. Colton Herta, meanwhile, quietly completed the final step of a long mission, covering the 100 kilometres of running he needed to earn the last point for his Formula 1 superlicence. Gabriele Mini made the strongest impression of the stand-ins, taking seventh for Alpine in Pierre Gasly's car.

There was frustration in the mix, too. Verstappen was heard on the radio complaining about his Red Bull's downshifts in blunt terms, calling them "unacceptable" — a reminder that even a four-time world champion can be rattled by the details. Hamilton, quickest of the Ferraris in Charles Leclerc's absence, reported slippery conditions despite the dry weather, with rain forecast later in the weekend at a circuit famous for dramatic wet races.

The weekend still has plenty riding on it. Mercedes can secure the constructors' championship at Interlagos if they outscore Ferrari by three points, though Russell will serve a five-place grid penalty for an engine change, which makes that arithmetic harder than it looks. Norris, who dominated here last year on his way to the 2025 title, has the first answer on outright pace. Whether the top three teams stay separated by less than a quarter of a second once the regulars return is the question second practice will start to answer.