Antonelli tops FP2 as Norris leads FP1 in São Paulo

Kimi Antonelli’s first Friday on track as world champion ended with the fastest time in second practice at Interlagos. His 1:10.763 put him 0.253 seconds ahead of Lando Norris, who had led FP1 by 0.082 seconds.

The lead changed hands between the two sessions. George Russell finished fourth in FP2, while Oscar Piastri, back in the McLaren after Leonardo Fornaroli drove in FP1, was fifth, just 0.068 seconds behind Norris.

Norris said the first signs from McLaren’s upgrades were encouraging and that the car seemed to have gained performance and a little lap time. He found FP2 more challenging against Mercedes, but said McLaren’s pace relative to the rest of the field looked strong.

Verstappen finished third in both sessions but said he had steering issues that needed to be fixed before qualifying. Red Bull’s Hannah Schmitz said the team was examining several changes to his car. Russell said Mercedes still had work to do: his long-run pace felt stronger than his one-lap speed, and understeer remained to be dialled out.

At Audi, Nico Hülkenberg missed all Friday running after the issue that stopped Freddie Slater in FP1 left the team without time to get Hülkenberg out in FP2.

Rain remains a variable for Saturday. Norris said very wet conditions were expected, while Antonelli said the forecast was difficult to predict.