Sao Paulo GP: Lando Norris pips Oscar Piastri to set Practice One pace as Yuki Tsunoda crashes, Lewis Hamilton spins
Lando Norris pipped Oscar Piastri to the fastest time of the sole Interlagos practice session ahead of Friday evening’s Sprint Qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
New title leader Norris produced a last-gasp pacesetting lap of 1:09.975 to get ahead of team-mate Piastri by 0.023s with the McLarens proving dominant on the practice timesheet going into the crucial Sprint weekend’s first qualifying session at 6.30pm, live on Sky Sports F1.
It continued Norris’ run of finishing ahead of Piastri in every session since Singapore GP qualifying three races ago, although the latter had held the advantage until the closing moments of practice on a weekend he attempts to rediscover his form after losing the leadership of the world championship by a point to the Briton two weeks ago in Mexico.
“Oscar Piastri has unquestionably gathered himself together,” said Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle.
“He looked like he’s back on his old form and settled into the track. It’s very close between him and Norris.
“But without question, Piastri is back on form.”
Unlike the papaya cars, Max Verstappen did not use the medium tyres during the session and finished down in an unrepresentative 17th place.
The Red Bull driver, who trails Norris by 36 points in the standings, did briefly run on the quickest compound, the softs, late on but abandoned the lap having been half a second down on Piastri’s then-benchmark after sector two.
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Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull spins off early during practice at the Sao Paulo GP
And while he avoided the pitfalls experienced by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who hit the barriers in the session’s early minutes after a spin at Turn Four, Verstappen twice ran off track at the same corner with the RB21’s handling seemingly not yet to his liking.
Verstappen was joined towards the foot of the order by Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who finished 18th and 19th fastest respectively after both spending the whole session on the hard compound.
On his well-worn tyres, Hamilton had a late spin off track coming out of the downhill Mergulho with the Ferrari twice rotating a full 360 degrees before the Briton continued on his way without damage to his car.
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Lewis Hamilton was pushing hard on old tyres and paid the price, spinning off the track at Turn 11 during the first practice session at the Sao Paulo GP
The same could not be said of Tsunoda, though, who damaged his Red Bull’s front and rear wings when he lost control of the car after going over the kerb on the exit of right-handed corner that follows the backstraight.
The Japanese driver missed the next 25 minutes of track action while the team completed repairs in the garage and eventually finished 20th fastest once he did rejoin, on soft tyres.
With Verstappen and the Ferraris towards the foot of the order, Sauber finished with both their cars in the top five – Nico Hulkenberg third ahead of Brazil’s own Gabriel Bortoleto in fifth, making his debut appearance at his home race – while Fernando Alonso was fourth for Aston Martin.
Mercedes’ George Russell, who claimed his maiden F1 win at the circuit in 2022, had set the session’s early pace on hard tyres before slipping to sixth place. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes rounded out the top 10.
Sao Paulo GP Practice Timesheet
Driver
Team
Time
1) Lando Norris
McLaren
1:09.975
2) Oscar Piastri
McLaren
+0.023
3) Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber
+0.619
4) Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
+0.631
5) Gabriel Bortoleto
Sauber
+0.641
6) George Russell
Mercedes
+0.670
7) Pierre Gasly
Alpine
+0.706
8) Carlos Sainz
Williams
+0.711
9) Isack Hadjar
Racing Bulls
+0.732
10) Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
+0.769
11) Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
+0.819
12) Alex Albon
Williams
+0.832
13) Esteban Ocon
Haas
+0.931
14) Oliver Bearman
Haas
+0.986
15) Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
+1.095
16) Franco Colapinto
Alpine
+1.185
17) Max Verstappen
Red Bull
+1.393
18) Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+1.518
19) Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
+1.551
20) Yuki Tsunoda
Red Bull
+1.788
Sky Sports F1’s Sao Paulo GP Schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Friday November 7
4.30pm: Team Principals’ Press Conference
6pm: Sao Paulo GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 6.30pm)*
Saturday November 8
1pm: Sao Paulo GP Sprint build-up
2pm: SAO PAULO GP SPRINT*
3.30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
5pm: Sao Paulo GP Qualifying build-up
6pm: SAO PAULO GP QUALIFYING
8pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday November 9
3.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Sao Paulo GP build-up
5pm: THE SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX
7pm: Chequered Flag: Sao Paulo GP reaction
8pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues in Brazil with a Sprint weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from this Friday, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
