Max Verstappen took the spoils at the end of free practice 3 in São Paulo. The four-time world champion’s best time of 1m11.622s was enough to narrowly outpace the newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli by just two hundredths. Red Bull’s package looks strong; however, Verstappen will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after taking on fresh engine components.
Despite sealing the title last time out in Mexico, Kimi Antonelli is showing no signs of easing up. The Mercedes driver topped FP2 and was in the mix throughout. Antonelli has form at Interlagos, having resisted a charging Max Verstappen en route to second place last year. With many heavy hitters incurring grid penalties, Antonelli could emerge as a major contender for pole.
McLaren have brought a front wing upgrade to Brazil in the hopes of reclaiming third place in the constructors’ standings from a resurgent Red Bull squad. Initial signs point to a positive step forward as Lando Norris topped the time sheets in FP1 and set top three times in FP2 and 3. George Russell has taken his sixth new engine of the season and has incurred a five-place grid drop. The Mercedes driver finished FP3 in fourth, just ahead of Charles Leclerc, who also received a grid penalty for fresh engine components. Oscar Piastri made way for former F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli in FP1 before returning for the final two sessions and finishing FP3 sixth, ahead of the two Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson.
Local hero Gabriel Bortoleto took tenth ahead of Pierre Gasly. His teammate Nico Hülkenberg, who was unable to contest FP2 due to technical issues and had to make do with 13th, ahead of Franco Colapinto.
The 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix will be Lewis Hamilton’s 400th Grand Prix. A highly exclusive club of which Fernando Alonso is the only other member. It wasn’t a good start to the weekend, as Hamilton incurred a parts-related ten-place grid penalty alongside his teammate. The seven-time world champion later encountered engine issues in FP3 that brought his session to an early end and prevented any running on the soft tyres.
As was the case in Mexico, there were rookies aplenty in FP1 as teams fulfilled their rookie driver quotas. Colton Herta took Sergio Pérez's place at Cadillac, Luke Browning took to the track for Williams, Alpine’s Gabriele Minì was the fastest of the rookies in seventh, while Dino Beganovic took Leclerc’s Ferrari. Freddie Slater made another appearance for Audi, but mechanical issues forced him out of the running after just 15 minutes.
This weekend marks Rafael Câmara's F1 debut. The current Formula 2 championship leader was originally due to drive for Haas in 2027 but has been thrust into a race seat for the rest of the seaon, following Esteban Ocon’s premature departure. Câmara had a close call with Leclerc in FP2 but survived to finish the final session 15th, just in front of his teammate, Ollie Bearman.
Alex Albon was one of many drivers caught out at Interlagos’ treacherous turn one en route to 17th in FP3, while Fernando Alonso made a similar error. Carlos Sainz set the 19th-fastest time in FP3, ahead of the two Cadillacs of Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas. Lance Stroll encountered an ERS issue just seven laps into FP3 and ended up at the bottom of the table.
With Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton all set for grid penalties, the fight for pole looks like a two-horse race between Norris and Antonelli. However, with rain expected for both qualifying and the race, São Paulo is almost guaranteed to spring a surprise.
