It appears that Lando Norris has carried his form from the last GP in Mexico into Brazil. The British championship leader made a strong opening statement at the first and only free practice of the GP São Paulo. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, is far from satisfied with his performance.
The fifth and penultimate sprint weekend of 2025 means all hands on deck for the ten Formula 1 teams. In just one training hour instead of the usual three, the cars must be tuned and a direction chosen for the remaining qualifications, races, and weather conditions. These often influence the numbers in São Paulo. This weekend may be no exception, with rain expected, particularly on Saturday.
To be well-prepared, it’s busy on the short asphalt strip from the moment the lights turn green, five minutes later than planned due to clean-up operations on the track. Yuki Tsunoda is the first driver to damage his car within a few minutes. The Japanese driver goes off in turn 4, ends up in the tire barrier, but manages to reach the garage on his own power, losing valuable training time due to the damage. George Russell feels considerably more comfortable on the track: the Brit, who booked his first F1 victory in São Paulo three years ago, is a fraction faster than Max Verstappen. The margins are once again razor-thin: the first seventeen drivers are within a second of Russell.
In the final quarter, when the qualification simulations for the sprint race are scheduled with the medium tire under the car, it becomes clear once again that McLaren seems to have the best papers for the GP São Paulo. Oscar Piastri clocks the fastest time by far, well ahead of teammate Lando Norris. But the Brit squeezes out a faster lap nonetheless. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, aborts his qualification simulation in the final minutes. The world champion is not happy with the setup of the RB21, complaining about imbalance.
Ferrari skips the simulations altogether, Nico Hülkenberg places the bright green Stake in third place, and teammate Gabriel Bortoleto provides some hope for Brazilian hearts with a P6. Verstappen ends the session almost one and a half seconds behind Norris and on a harder tire in seventeenth place, with colleague Tsunoda finishing last.
