Sao Paulo GP: Lando Norris leads practice one at Interlagos as Max Verstappen finishes 15th after confirmation of grid penalty | F1 news

Lando Norris led the only practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after title rival Max Verstappen was given a grid penalty for Sunday’s race in Brazil.

Norris set a lap of 1:10.610s in the closing moments of the session to beat Mercedes’ George Russell by almost two-tenths of a second, which was promising for the McLaren driver ahead of sprint qualifying later on Friday at Interlagos.

Verstappen, who leads Norris by 47 points in the Drivers’ Championship with four rounds of the season remaining, aborted his only attempt at a flying lap on soft tires and finished 15th.

As expected, confirmation came during the session that Red Bull had installed a new engine in Verstappen’s car, which will result in a five-place grid penalty on Sunday.

Oliver Bearman impressed Haas to complete a British one-two-three, having stepped in at short notice for the unwell Kevin Magnussen, and will remain in place of the Dane for both sprint sessions.

Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri underlined McLaren’s strength by finishing fourth, but the chaotic nature of the order suggested the timesheet needed to be viewed with some caution.

Alex Albon finished fifth for Williams, ahead of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who have moved the Italian team within 29 points of McLaren at the top of the constructors’ championship after a win each in the last two races.

Lewis Hamilton finished 16th for Mercedes after opting not to use the soft tire at all during the session, but complained of pain from heavy impact on the new track surface, an issue that affected much of the field.

Verstappen’s struggling teammate Sergio Perez finished 19th despite completing what appeared to be a flying lap attempt on the soft tyre.

Early encouragement for Norris, but the mystery remains

Just five days after the Mexico City Grand Prix, in which Verstappen received two penalties for being too aggressive in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Norris, there was great anticipation in Sao Paulo for the final chapter of what has developed into an exciting title. competition.

Norris got the early but expected boost from Verstappen’s grid penalty which was confirmed, but the Brit cannot be sure it will have too much of an impact on the Dutchman given the ease of overtaking in a fast car at Interlagos.

The early signs weren’t great for Norris as he returned to the garage for some major set-up changes, then initially wasn’t on Russell’s pace on his first run on soft tyres.

However, after another trip to the garage to make some adjustments, Norris found an improvement of more than two-tenths, despite his tires being on their second run.

Moments earlier, Verstappen seemed to be on course to place himself somewhere in the top three, but aborted his lap for unknown reasons.

While it is encouraging to be fastest for Norris, the pecking order in the 6pm sprint qualifying remains largely a mystery, making for an intriguing session at the famous track.

Sky Sports F1’s live Sao Paulo GP schedule

Friday November 1
4:30 PM: Press conference of the team leaders
6:00 PM: Sao Paulo GP sprint qualifying (qualifying starts at 6:30 PM*)

Saturday November 2
1 p.m.: Set-up of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
2 p.m.: Sao Paulo Sprint GP
3:30 PM: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
5:00 PM: Sao Paulo Qualification Build-up
6 p.m.: Sao Paulo GP qualifying
8:00 PM: Ted’s Qualification Notebook

Sunday November 3
3.30 pm: Grand Prix Sunday: build-up of the Sao Paulo GP
5:00 PM: THE GRAND PRIZE OF SAO PAULO
7 p.m.: Checkered flag: GP response from Sao Paulo
8 p.m.: Ted’s notebook

*also live on the Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1’s triple header in America concludes this weekend with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with each session broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership – No contract, cancel anytime