Antonelli tops Brazil FP2 as Russell faces five-place grid penalty

Kimi Antonelli put Mercedes at the top of Friday’s second practice for the São Paulo Grand Prix, with team-mate George Russell fourth in a tightly packed top four. Russell said the five-place grid penalty puts extra emphasis on qualifying, where he wants Mercedes to place the car as high as possible before the penalty is applied.

Antonelli’s 1:10.763 led Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Russell; the gap from first to fourth was 0.273 seconds. Antonelli had also been second in FP1, while Russell was fifth.

Russell said his long-run pace felt stronger than his one-lap performance and that he still wanted to dial out understeer. In Mercedes’ tyre comparison, its drivers looked competitive on softs, while Verstappen stood out on mediums and Norris looked strong on hards.

Mercedes expects much warmer temperatures and a threat of rain as the weekend continues. Antonelli said the weather was difficult to predict and that the team would need to react quickly if conditions changed.