Norris Edges Piastri in Brazilian GP Practice as McLaren Dominates

Lando Norris secured the fastest time in the sole practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix, narrowly beating his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. The Woking outfit displayed dominant pace, leaving traditional frontrunners like Red Bull and Ferrari well down the order, hinting at a potentially surprising weekend ahead.

Why it matters:

• With only one practice session before the crucial sprint qualifying, McLaren's immediate top form at Interlagos is a significant indicator of their competitive potential.
• The struggles of Red Bull and Ferrari, who occupied the bottom four positions, raise questions about their setup and strategic approach for the demanding Brazilian circuit.
• This session sets the stage for a dramatic sprint qualifying, as teams will have little time to refine their cars and extract maximum performance.

The Details:

• Norris clocked a 1m09.975s on medium tires, just 0.023 seconds quicker than Piastri, who had consistently outpaced Norris in earlier performance runs.
• Piastri showed strong form after two quieter weekends, nearly securing the top spot before Norris's final surge.
• McLaren's Advantage: The gap to the rest of the field was substantial, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber the closest challenger, over six-tenths behind.
• Mercedes' Performance: George Russell initially led on hard tires but fell to sixth on mediums, 0.670s off Norris. Kimi Antonelli was 10th.
• Red Bull's Woes: Max Verstappen aborted a soft-tire run and finished 17th. Yuki Tsunoda had the biggest incident, damaging his car early on and losing significant track time, ending up slowest.
• Ferrari's Low-Key Session: Charles Leclerc (18th) and Lewis Hamilton (19th) had a quiet session, with Hamilton experiencing a double spin and complaining of the car's rear hitting the floor. Ferrari reportedly skipped performance runs.
• Surprise Contenders: Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto impressively placed third and fifth, respectively, showcasing strong one-lap pace.

What's next:

Teams face an immediate challenge to analyze the limited data from this single practice session and make crucial setup decisions for sprint qualifying. McLaren's strong start puts them in a prime position, but the true pace of Red Bull and Ferrari, especially if they were sandbagging or focused on race pace, remains to be seen. The short turnaround to sprint qualifying means any missteps will be costly.