Norris puts McLaren upgrades to work as Antonelli begins title reign in second

During the first free practice session of the São Paulo Grand Prix, McLaren driver Lando Norris emerged as the fastest with a time of 1:11.717, narrowly edging out teammate Kimi Antonelli by just 0.082 seconds. Max Verstappen rounded out the top three, but the Dutchman expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of his Red Bull, particularly the downshifts and steering.

Technical issues plagued two rookies, Leonardo Fornaroli and Rafael Camara, during FP1, with Fornaroli appearing on the timesheets while Camara will compete throughout the weekend for Haas. Slater and Beganovic faced their own challenges, with Slater triggering the only red flag of the session due to a technical problem, finishing at the bottom of the standings.

Beganovic, driving for Ferrari, completed only two laps on the soft compound before being instructed to return to the pits. Norris leads the session, but Verstappen, who encountered his own difficulties, was not far behind.