F1 Brazilian GP: Antonelli quickest in tricky FP2

Newly-minted world champion Kimi Antonelli topped Friday's second practice session at the Brazilian GP, heading Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in Sao Paulo.

At the classic 4.3km Interlagos circuit, Antonelli set his quickest time just before the halfway mark of FP2 as drivers moved towards soft-tyre running, the Italian going faster than Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Despite fans intermittently reaching for their ponchos, light drops of rain never really persisted on what was predicted to be the clearest day of a rain-affected weekend. But the cooler, overcast conditions did affect the running in different ways, as Lewis Hamilton reported he "can't get the tyre temperatures up". Hamilton was one of several drivers to lock up the front-left wheel on approach to the heavily cambered Turn 1.

Antonelli, who became F1's youngest ever world champion last weekend in Mexico, suffered from heavy bottoming on the bumpy layout, but still managed to lead the early running on hard tyres with a 1m11.8 lap.

Following a quieter spell, the paddock collectively unwrapped Pirelli's soft tyre compound. Russell, who has a five-place grid penalty overhanging his weekend for taking a new engine, came to the fore with a 1m11.016s lap, before being demoted by Norris and Verstappen.

Russell's Mercedes partner Antonelli went quicker still, dipping below the 1m11 barrier with a 1m10.763s effort. That was a quarter of a second quicker than three drivers from three different teams, such is the convergence of performance towards the end of the 2026 season.

In the upgraded McLaren MCL40, which boasts a new front wing, Norris took second with a 1m11.016s lap, which was 0.006s ahead of third-placed Verstappen, who caused some hilarity with his radio complaints about his Red Bull's clutch.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images

Russell and Oscar Piastri all followed within a tenth of Norris to complete the top five. Ferrari, often strong out of the gates on Friday, had an unusually muted start in Brazil. After going quickest in the first sector, Hamilton settled for sixth with team-mate Charles Leclerc in seventh, Leclerc rueing being impeded on the straight by Haas debutant Rafael Camara.

Aboard a dark green Audi, Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth on home soil, with Isack Hadjar and Haas driver Oliver Bearman rounding out the top 10.

Camara eventually took 16th, half a second off his team-mate, as Haas' 2027 signing completed his first full day as a grand prix driver replacing the ousted Esteban Ocon.

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg remained stuck in the garage after undisclosed issues plaguing FP1 stand-in Freddie Slater earlier on Friday.

F1 Brazilian GP: FP2 Results

All Stats

 

Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	37	1'10.763		S	219.216
2	L. Norris McLaren	1		McLaren	Mercedes	31	+0.253 1'11.016	0.253	S	218.435
3	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	3		Red Bull	Red Bull	23	+0.259 1'11.022	0.006	S	218.416
4	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	35	+0.273 1'11.036	0.014	S	218.373
5	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	32	+0.321 1'11.084	0.048	S	218.226
6	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	35	+0.450 1'11.213	0.129	S	217.831
7	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	33	+0.720 1'11.483	0.270	S	217.008
8	G. Bortoleto Audi	5		Audi	Audi	33	+1.017 1'11.780	0.297	S	216.110
9	I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing	6		Red Bull	Red Bull	33	+1.076 1'11.839	0.059	S	215.932
10	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	36	+1.228 1'11.991	0.152	S	215.476
11	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		Alpine	Mercedes	33	+1.233 1'11.996	0.005	S	215.461
12	A. Lindblad Racing Bulls	41		RB	Red Bull	36	+1.245 1'12.008	0.012	S	215.426
13	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30		RB	Red Bull	36	+1.279 1'12.042	0.034	S	215.324
14	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Mercedes	37	+1.346 1'12.109	0.067	S	215.124
15	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Honda	34	+1.775 1'12.538	0.429	S	213.852
16	R. Câmara Haas F1 Team	51		Haas	Ferrari	30	+1.798 1'12.561	0.023	S	213.784
17	C. Sainz Williams	55		Williams	Mercedes	33	+1.979 1'12.742	0.181	S	213.252
18	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Honda	31	+2.179 1'12.942	0.200	S	212.667
19	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	37	+2.190 1'12.953	0.011	S	212.635
20	S. Perez Cadillac F1 Team	11		Cadillac	Ferrari	34	+2.553 1'13.316	0.363	S	211.582
21	V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team	77		Cadillac	Ferrari	33	+2.620 1'13.383	0.067	S	211.389
22	N. Hulkenberg Audi	27		Audi	Audi	0
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