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Formula 1 Brazilian GP

F1 Brazilian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & Qualifying

Friday's action from the 20th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36

Interlagos hosts the closing leg of the final triple header of the year, with just two races remaining of the 2023 season after the chequered flag falls. 

While Max Verstappen and Red Bull may have respectively wrapped up the titles, the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez for second in the drivers' standings is fierce. 

As is the fight at the bottom of the constructors' standings, with the margins separating Williams, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas closing at recent events. 

The sole practice session of the Brazilian GP weekend will start at 2:30pm GMT, followed by qualifying at 6:00pm GMT.

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As the clock ticks down to show 20 minutes remaining, hard tyres are still widely being used. Magnussen improves - on softs - to go P3 but there will be no long-run practice on mediums or softs for other teams.
Up to P2 for Hulkenberg, seven-tenths clear of team-mate Magnussen who is now in P4. A 1m11.928 is just half-a-tenth off Russell, but it was set on the softs compared to the Mercedes driver's mediums.
Race control have noted the incident between Hulkenberg and Norris.
That said, it did appear that Norris missed the apex and slid off-line to where Hulkenberg was sat. Maybe not quite as cut and shut as it immediately appeared.
As Hulkenberg prepared to start his soft tyre run, Norris dove to the inside of the final corner. Hulkenberg then turned in and made contact with the rear of the McLaren. A real lack of awareness there from both the German and his team.
On softs, Magnussen goes P3 with a 1m12.615s.
A great stat there, Haas are the only team on the grid with two drivers that have both taken pole position in Brazil. You're welcome, when that comes up in a pub quiz!
Soft tyres have been fitted to Magnussen's Haas, with Steiner conceding the rubber will be of no use during the race. Given the difference between the hard and medium tyres, writing them off so early is somewhat questionable.
And hold on a second, Alonso is now the quickest driver on hard tyres. He ends the lap 0.750s shy of Russell's benchmark.
Stopwatch
Russell doesn't let us down on that, and goes to the top with a 1m11.865s. Only he and Tsunoda have fitted the yellow-walled rubber.
Medium tyres alert! Something other than hards have now been fitted and times should now drop dramatically.
Just like they all returned to the pits again, the field return to the track at the same time! Ricciardo is the exception, as repairs are made to the floor of his AlphaTauri.
So far, Magnussen is the slowest driver, 2.1s off the pace and three-tenths off next-slowest, Zhou.
Stopwatch
With the track extremely quiet, Tsunoda is taking full advantage and moves up from P18 to the top spot, with a 1m12.802s. His effort is three-tenths up on Verstappen's previous best.
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"We've got a puncture," Aston Martin informs Alonso. He returns to the pits with the reported rear-left issue.
Just six cars remain on the track with no times being improved at present. With fewer tyres available on a sprint weekend, the hard tyres remain in action.
With 45 minutes remaining, the field are slowly returning to the pits as changes are made. In the Red Bull pit, Verstappen is out of the car so his seat can be properly placed.
The only tyres that have been so far are the hards, so expect to see these times tumble as the yellow and red-walled tyres begin to be fitted.
Here comes Mercedes. With Verstappen in the pits, Hamilton goes third and Russell - last year's winner - fourth.
After Alonso goes up to third with a 1m13.855s, he returns to the pit. As we say that, Sainz gets very crossed up on the exit of the final corner.
Only two drivers are yet to set a time, with these the two Williams drivers. 

This may change in a moment, however, as Sargeant has returned to the track.
The gap between the Red Bull drivers has shrunk to a more acceptable 0.3s, with Verstappen remaining the lead driver.
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"My seat is not fitted correctly," reports Verstappen, as Red Bull instruct him to remain on the track and that the problem will be fixed after the run.
Gasly now pops un into P2 with a 1m14.179s, as he is pushed back one place by Leclerc.
With his opening time, Perez is a second off Verstappen's time, as Norris splits the pair to go P2 at present.
Stopwatch
The early times are being set with Verstappen opening things with a 1m13.950s.
Ocon has reported a screw on one of his tyres. He is instructed to continue on the track with the expectation that it will flick off and cause no further harm.
The windspeed is 11.5km/h! That'll be noticed by the drivers!
No time is being wasted in this session with the vast majority of the field piling immediately onto the race track to make the most of this limited session.
Lights green
Green light, and FP1 is go!
Before the track goes green, Verstappen has already left the garage to wait at the end of the pitlane.
Back briefly to weather talk - it's a very British thing to discuss! - there is officially a 20% chance of rain during FP1. With the clouds rapidly building overhead, that seems on the low side!
Here we go, as the music plays, I get my usual nerdy little bop going, and we get ready for one hour of crucial action from Interlagos!
Breaking news
Lastly, before focusing on the coming hour, plank wear was a topic of discussion following Hamilton and Leclerc's disqualifications in the US at the last sprint weekend. 

Ahead of the current weekend, the topic has been raised once more. 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-drivers-warn-against-risk-of-austin-plank-trouble-repeat-in-brazil/10541942/
Breaking news
Looking ahead a fortnight to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen has made his thoughts very clear. 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/verstappen-las-vegas-f1-race-more-for-the-show-than-the-racing-itself/10541990/
Breaking news
First up, it's good news for fans of Interlagos, with the venue securing its position on the F1 calendar until 2030 with a new five-year contract. 
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/brazilian-grand-prix-signs-f1-contract-to-2030-/10542021/
In the 15 minutes that remain before qualifying, here are a couple of the big stories of the weekend so far.
Backing this up is the fact that an orange weather warning has been placed across Sao Paulo, with storms in the region.
Looking to the weather - always a popular topic at Interlagos - the wind is continuing to pick up with rain predicted to fall before qualifying at 6pm BST.
First up, we have one hour of free practice, before the usual three-part qualifying session that will decide the order for Sunday's Grand Prix.

By: Autosport Staff

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