What the teams said – Friday in Brazil

Mercedes

Antonelli took to the track for the first time as a World Champion in FP1, and it looked like he was happy to pick up where he left off in Mexico with a strong performance. He was up there on both the medium and soft tyres, winding up less than a tenth off the pace. He went even better in the second session, topping the timing sheet by a handsome margin. On a day where the time gaps were small, his 0.253s lead over the field was impressive.

Russell has a five-place grid drop coming for Sunday after taking on a new ICE, but ran a standard programme as he looks to try and negate that penalty as much as possible. He could not match his team mate, but was very much in the mix just behind.

Kimi Antonelli - FP1: 1:11.799, P2; FP2: 1:10.763, P1

"It was a positive day overall and I felt good in the car, particularly on the single lap runs. The conditions were quite tricky with the low grip, and it wasn’t easy to find the right balance, but I think we made some good progress between FP1 and FP2. There is still more to improve with both the car and my driving, so we’ll work through everything tonight and see what we can find for tomorrow.

"It looks very close at the front. McLaren and Red Bull look strong, and we know Ferrari can often find something extra when we get to qualifying, so I expect it to be a really tight fight. The weather could also play a part. It’s very difficult to predict at the moment, so we need to be ready for anything and react quickly if the conditions change.

"After the highs of Mexico, I’m just focusing on each session as it comes this weekend but I am enjoying things so far. Hopefully we can take another step tomorrow and put ourselves in a good position for qualifying and continue that feeling."

George Russell - FP1: 1:12.103, P5; FP2: 1:11.036, P4

"Overall, it was a solid Friday. We look to be in the mix, although it’s very close between several teams at the front. The long run pace felt stronger than our single-lap performance on my side, so there are definitely areas we can work on overnight to try and find a bit more ahead of Qualifying. The car wasn't perfect and we've got some understeer to dial out; there’s still some performance to find if we want to be fighting right at the front tomorrow.

"The conditions are likely to change across the weekend, so what we saw today won’t necessarily be fully representative of what we face tomorrow and Sunday. It looks like we’re in for another really close fight and small margins are going to make a difference.

"Obviously, the five-place grid penalty we have makes our task a little more difficult. It puts even more emphasis on having a strong qualifying and putting the car as high up the grid as possible before the penalty is applied. If we can do that, then I’m confident we can still put ourselves in a position to move forward and challenge near the front on Sunday."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"This has been one of our better Fridays recently from a pace point of view, although there is still plenty of scope to improve the balance. FP1 was interesting as Kimi looked very comfortable on the single lap but struggled a little more on the long run, whereas George was very strong on the long run but didn’t quite get the single lap together. That gave us some useful data ahead of the afternoon and we were able to take the best elements from each set-up into FP2.

"The second session ran smoothly and, overall, we look to have decent pace on both the single lap and long run. There is still work to do though, and both drivers are finding the cars difficult in certain areas. Brake locking is one of those and has been a bit of a theme for us over the past few races. We’d also like to find a better compromise between rear grip through the high-speed corners and giving the drivers the strong front end they need in the slower sections. Whilst the pace is encouraging then, we’ve still got plenty to work on overnight. If we can make the cars a little easier for the drivers to work with and tidy up those areas of balance, hopefully we can take another step forward tomorrow."

McLaren

Norris wound up fastest in FP1 by 0.082s from Antonelli, the McLaren man setting his lap time a few moments after the Italian and thus on a slightly more evolved track. Nonetheless it was a strong lap and showed McLaren could be in the mix here. Fornaroli also had a decent session, finishing 11th after running the soft tyre first before the track had rubbered in.

Piastri took his cockpit back in FP2, and both McLaren drivers found themselves evenly matched. Norris had the edge, but only by 0.068s.

Lando Norris - FP1: 1:11.717, P1; FP2: 1:11.016, P2

"It’s been a positive day. FP1 was a pleasant surprise, and although we found FP2 slightly more challenging compared to Mercedes, our pace relative to the rest of the field looked strong. We’ve been working through the upgrades, and the first signs are encouraging: we seem to have gained performance and a little lap time.

"The upgrades are designed to bring more load and grip, rather than alter the car’s handling, but they can still affect how the car feels. The car has been tricky this year, but today it felt a little more straightforward and positive, which is a good start to the weekend. We’ll analyse everything carefully and make sure we do our best to prepare, particularly with very wet conditions expected on Saturday."

Oscar Piastri - FP2: 1:11.084, P5

"A reasonable session to start the weekend. Everything feels good and the upgrades look positive, which is encouraging. We’ll now keep building on that to put ourselves in the best window for Qualifying tomorrow afternoon.

"There’s still a bit of work to do to catch the cars ahead, but overall, I think it was a pretty successful first day. Thanks to Leo for his efforts in FP1 and the useful work he did for the team. We’ve got plenty to look through tonight, and hopefully we can take another step forward in the remaining sessions."

Leonardo Fornaroli - FP1: 1:12.833, P11

"It was a positive FP1 session today, this was my first time at the circuit and I really enjoyed it. There was a lot to get through, particularly with the aerodynamic work at the start but I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made since Mexico. The car felt good, and I’m happy with all the work we completed today.

"Once more, thank you to the Zak, Andrea and the rest of the team for the opportunity and all their support this season. This was my final FP1 session of the year, but I’ll keep working in the simulator and supporting the team as Reserve Driver for the remaining races of the season."

Randy Singh - Senior Director, Racing

"It has been an encouraging day for the team. We brought a new upgrade package, including a revised front wing, and the data from both practice sessions indicates that it is delivering exactly as anticipated. Both drivers were immediately competitive, with Oscar doing a fantastic job to hit the pace straight away in FP2 despite sitting out the opening session in tricky, misty conditions. Leo too did a very good job in FP1, helping the team to collect very important data but also being able to show his natural speed, despite he had to run on a set of used Softs when he had the possibility to properly push for the lap time.

"The car feels like it has taken a small step forward compared to recent events, putting us in a much stronger position to compete near the front. Looking ahead to qualifying, the margins remain extremely fine across the field; a good session could easily be the difference between the front row and starting seventh or eighth. We will complete our due diligence on the data tonight before confirming our setup for the remainder of the weekend."

Red Bull

Verstappen was his usual vocal self on the radio in FP1, complaining about downshifts and also his steering wheel. Despite claiming that driving had turned into a “workout,” the Dutchman finished in the top three, a few places higher than Hadjar. He had similar issues in the second session and wound up parking in the garage earlier than planned, with the team needing to look at his steering wheel. But he was quick throughout the day, and looks right in the mix for pole. Hadjar has a little bit more work to do, he wound up down in ninth after being the first to bolt on the soft tyres.

Max Verstappen - FP1: 1:11.953, P3; FP2: 1:11.022, P3

“The session went fairly well today. We’re always looking to extract a little more performance, while also trying to find more consistency in our overall performance. We’ve been fine-tuning the car and, in particular, working to better understand the tyre behaviour over the long runs. I had some issues with the steering, which we’ll need to fix ahead of qualifying. There’s still a bit of work to do, but nothing major. We’ll focus on maximising our performance and maybe hope for a little bit of rain."

Isack Hadjar - FP1: 1:12.156, P6; FP2: 1:11.839, P9

“We had a pretty consistent day today and were competitive on the long runs this morning, although we’re still working on finding the right balance. FP2 was more challenging as we went in a different direction with the setup, which didn’t quite work out as expected. We know where we need to improve and will make some adjustments ahead of tomorrow. It looks like we could have some rain, so we’ll need to adapt to the conditions, but hopefully we can make another step forward with the car.”

Hannah Schmitz, Head of Race Strategy

“It was a useful day. There was definitely a lot of things to work on and look into, but that is what practice is for. It was a close call on which session we would run the Hard and which session we would run the Medium tyres. Ultimately most of the top teams tested the three compounds, as they are so similar, but what we will run comes down to driver and Team preference.

"For both Max and Isack, there are things they want to look into and change overnight. There is a lot of performance that we can extract, and, in terms of lap times, we are still very competitive up there with the rest of the field. The Team are looking into several changes for Max’s car. There were things he was unhappy with, but we know what they are so can work on them.

"Tomorrow, the forecast is looking wet and we will have to wait and see if Qualifying happens at the scheduled time, but we will be prepared for all eventualities.”

Ferrari

Beganovic was in for Leclerc in the opening session, but he did not have much chance to impress with reliability issues limiting him to just 11 laps. He did not manage to get a flying lap in on the softs, but at least Leclerc had Hamilton’s data to look through.

Hamilton had a decent first hour, but both Ferrari drivers found the second session more difficult. Neither could nail that flying lap, with Leclerc also impeded by Camara on one of his runs – something that left the Monegasque driver less than impressed on the radio.

Charles Leclerc - FP2: 1:11.483, P7

"I only drove in FP2 today and it was quite a tricky session. The feeling in the car wasn’t quite right, so there’s plenty for us to work on tonight. I have some ideas about the direction we need to take with the set-up and we’ll make some changes for tomorrow. We need to find some performance, and hopefully we can make a good step forward for qualifying."

Lewis Hamilton - FP1: 1:12.041, P4; FP2: 1:11.213, P6

"It was a challenging day. The track is very bumpy and slippery, which made it difficult to get the tyres into the right window. FP1 was okay overall, but FP2 proved more difficult. We’ve gathered plenty of useful data, so we’ll work through that with the team tonight to understand where we can improve the car ahead of qualifying tomorrow."

Dino Beganovic - FP1: 1:14.357, P21

"It was great to be back in the car and experience such an amazing track behind the wheel. The first part of the session went well, and we collected some interesting data, however, unfortunately, our session was cut short by an issue and we didn’t manage to put in as many laps as we planned.

"It’s always special to drive the SF26, and to be part of the team, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to run the car in a free practice. I hope to be back in the car soon."

Audi

Slater was in for Hulkenberg in the opening session, but his participation did not last long as he was forced to park up trackside with an issue. That led to a red flag stoppage, which was a shame for the rookie who was robbed of the chance to show what he is made of.

Bortoleto at least had a clean opening hour on home soil and finished in the top 10. It was much of the same for the Brazilian in FP2, as he tries to build a less incident-packed weekend than he managed last year. Hulkenberg, however, was left without a single lap on the opening day, the issue with his car preventing him from going out at all in FP2.

Nico Hulkenberg - FP2: No time set, P22

“No laps for me today. Following the issue Freddie had in FP1, the team managed to identify the problem and worked hard to fix it but, unfortunately, we ran out of time to get me out on track in FP2. I followed Gabi's session alongside the engineers, and we'll go through the data he collected. Not an easy day, but we'll try to recover and make the most of FP3 tomorrow.”

Gabriel Bortoleto - FP1: 1:12.614, P8; FP2: 1:11.780, P8

“It's been an encouraging first day overall. We had a good start to the weekend and went through all of our task-list for the day; the car felt very good out there, and that also helped me getting the most out of it. Hopefully, we can keep this energy going through the rest of the weekend.”

Freddie Slater- FP1: 1:14.966, P22

“Of course, missing a session is frustrating as a driver because you just want to drive, that's what we love to do, but I know that's part of motorsport and these things can happen. On the other hand, the laps I did were positive. On the hard tire I got some good, valuable lessons, so I’ll take that with me and move on. It's been an amazing experience over these two weekends and I am grateful to Audi Revolut F1 Team for it. I've learned so much already, both from the team and about how these cars work, and it's been a great opportunity to gain valuable experience that will help me in the future.”

Alpine

Gasly sat out for Mini in FP1, and the rookie did a very good job, topping the midfield and beating his team mate. He wound up nearly a tenth ahead of Colapinto, but the Argentine still had a solid day. He was on the cusp of the top 10 in the second session, just 0.005s behind Bearman. As for Gasly, he took a little longer to get going after returning for FP2, so it remains to be seen if he can climb up the order tomorrow at a track where he has a very decent record.

Pierre Gasly - FP2: 1:12.109, P14

“A slightly different Friday to normal for me today with Gabriele [Mini] in my car for Free Practice 1, so only the one session in the car on my side during Free Practice 2. Gabriele did a great job in that session to be up in P7, and it appeared the car was quite well balanced from the very start with Franco also up inside the top 10. I do not think the leaderboard in Free Practice 2 reflects how I am feeling inside the car after that session. While I am not completely happy with a few things, it was a bit messy our end on the Soft tyre and I locked up on my first push lap and then had to abort another, so there is definitely much more performance to quickly unlock and show. I am definitely feeling optimistic, especially as a tenth of a second makes up four places or so. I have always enjoyed driving at this track, so I am looking forward to more Practice tomorrow ahead of Qualifying where we'll give it our all to be in Q3 again.”

Franco Colapinto - FP1: 1:12.654, P9; FP2: 1:11.996, P11

“It is good to be back in São Paulo and driving in Interlagos, this legendary track, always feels so special. Today went quite well and, in terms of competitiveness, we are looking quite good. We have some more work to do on the balance of the car and trying to feel more comfortable, but the team and I will work hard tonight to go through the data to see what areas we can change and improve. The underlying pace is there and the gaps to some of our rivals are very close, so it is important to maximise every detail. The track here has been resurfaced and it feels okay in the dry, some of the usual bumps remain, but, of course, we have not yet driven in wet conditions. There is some rain forecast, so that is something for us all to keep an eye on.”

Gabriele Mini - FP1: 1:12.569, P7

“I am quite happy with how my second Free Practice session with the team went and, obviously, finishing in P7 was a pretty good result. I learnt a lot of things last weekend in Mexico City, so I knew a few areas I needed to work on heading into today, which was very useful. I began the programme with some aero testing which is important for the team with the useful data it provides. After that we moved into some performance running, starting on Mediums and then onto Softs. I felt the car was in a good place and I was relatively pleased with my push lap on Softs. There was definitely more time in that lap but there is also a lot to manage inside the car, so I also know it was far from perfect. Still, I was able to show some pace which was good, I was happy with it, and it was satisfying to learn that I was amongst the quickest of everyone in some corners on the lap. It was very different to Mexico, I felt way more grip here and I was just building and improving lap after lap. Once again, thank you to the team for the opportunity and now I look forward to seeing what I can do to assist the team for the remainder of the weekend.”

Haas

Camara had a solid opening session for Haas, getting plenty of laps in and setting a strong foundation for his weekend. Bearman was 12th in FP1, despite locking up his tyres early in the session.

Bearman improved on that in the second hour of practice, winding up in the top 10 which bodes well for Qualifying. Camara found the second session more testing, after drifting across onto the racing line with a flying Leclerc coming up behind. That led to a hairy moment, which the stewards had a look at after the session, giving the rookie a reprimand.

Oliver Bearman - FP1: 1:12.837, P12; FP2: 1:11.991, P10

“It was a decent day and I was happy with the car. Sometimes it was a bit more challenging than others, but we found a decent baseline. I’m proud of the guys and we’ll keep working overnight to find a bit more to see what we can do in Qualifying – not knowing what weather conditions we may be running in.”

Rafael Camara - FP1: 1:13.696, P18; FP2: 1:12.561, P16

“It’s been a really nice weekend so far, really special. Going into FP1 was getting a bit more emotional, with the intensity of the crowd in front of you and fans getting excited. Once you get into the car, and you start driving, it goes back to the normal thing that you’ve been doing your whole life. There’s a lot going on, but so far it’s been a good two sessions, learning a lot and improving throughout the day. Tonight, I’ll work with the team and put more in place for tomorrow.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“Overall, it’s been a decent Friday. It’s the first day for our debutant Rafa in his home country, so there was a lot going on, but he and the team have handled the situation very well. He’s very calm with a professional approach, and had two solid sessions, so I’m very pleased with that and think we’ve got off to a good start. On Ollie’s side, in FP1 he wasn’t as happy with the car as he had been previously, but we’ve actually got a pretty decent reference from other races, and in FP2 he was happier, especially on the softs. We really couldn’t get the hard tyres working, so that’s something we’ve got to look into. On quali runs, because of the difference in hards and softs, we left some performance out there. I think the baseline is good, and it’s now at the fine-tuning stage of understanding what we can do better on the medium and hard compounds, and at the same time, getting a bit more out of the soft tyre.”

Racing Bulls

Lawson rounded out the top 10 in first practice in what was a steady session for him. Lindblad was further back and took avoiding action via an escape road at one point, keen not to tangle with Verstappen on track like his team mate did in Mexico. But the rookie beat Lawson in the second session, albeit on a day where the gaps were as tight in the midfield as they were up front. There was just 0.034s between the team mates in FP2, so a tight intra-team fight could be in the offing tomorrow.

Arvid Lindblad - FP1: 1:13.038, P14; FP2: 1:12.008, P12

"It’s my first time driving here at Interlagos and it’s a pretty cool track to drive, as I expected. FP1 wasn’t the smoothest session, as I still had to familiarise myself with the layout and get up to speed. In addition to this, we also identified a few areas on the car that needed improvement. We made some changes ahead of FP2, where I felt much more comfortable and confident behind the wheel, so that's a definite positive. Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend, the weather remains a bit of an unknown with rain in the forecast. The midfield is also very tight, but I believe there’s still room for us to make a step forward. We’ll keep pushing and working with the team."

Liam Lawson - FP1: 1:12.715, P10; FP2: 1:12.042, P13

"Today has been somewhat fine overall. We made some changes to the car between FP1 and FP2, but there's definitely more to be made ahead of tomorrow. We’ll spend tonight reviewing everything and working out what we need to do to get the car into the best possible window for tomorrow. We have a few ideas we’d like to explore, but the midfield is extremely close at the moment. It's going to be important to put everything together, particularly with the weather being so unpredictable."

Alan Permane, Team Principal

"It's not been our strongest Friday here in Brazil. We haven't quite got to grips with the car, but we made improvements between FP1 and FP2, so the drivers were happier. That being said, there are definitely some more adjustments to be made. We're a tiny bit out of position in comparison to where we normally are on a Friday, however we're running the simulator with ideas to find a tenth or two, and are focused on ensuring we have the best car set up ahead of tomorrow's weather forecast. We know the car runs well in the wet, so we're optimistic as we look ahead to Qualifying tomorrow."

Aston Martin

Alonso and Stroll had busy opening sessions, both completing plenty of laps. Alonso wound up near the top 10, much as he had in Mexico before it all went wrong in Qualifying. He will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last weekend, as he does seem to have taken a step towards the midfield here. As for Stroll, he had one hairy moment with Verstappen when the duo completed their practice starts at the end of FP1, but other than that had a steady day.

Fernando Alonso - FP1: 1:13.017, P13; FP2: 1:12.538, P15
Lance Stroll - FP1: 1:13.760, P19; FP2: 1:12.942, P18

Stroll said:

"It's great to be back in Brazil and I'm feeling better.

"It was good to get out on track today, we managed to get through our Friday plan and all of our running programme. We will need to look at the data now and have some work to do overnight.

"There's also a bit of uncertainty with the weather here so we'll see what the rest of the weekend brings for us."

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer said:

"Our reliability seems more of a positive here in Brazil and the pace is more or less where we expected to be so far this weekend.

"The weather forecast isn't great for tomorrow and on Sunday, so let's see what we can do. We are always learning about the car and we continued that today with a relatively smooth session for both sides of the garage."

Williams

Sainz admitted after FP1 that his car is mileage limited this weekend due to running an older engine, so it was no surprise that Browning did not complete too many laps in that FW48. Albon managed a few more, but could not force his way up the leaderboard.

For the Thai driver it was much the same story in FP2, as he struggled to extract much pace from the car. Sainz wound up only a couple of places ahead, with Williams once again looking set to struggle this weekend.

Alex Albon - FP1: 1:13.511, P16; FP2: 1:12.953, P19

“We’re trying to find the middle ground with the car, and sometimes the car has felt good and other times there’s a lot of work to do. We haven't quite found the balance yet, so it's been tricky out there. We'll use the rest of the weekend as an opportunity to come up with some ideas and look at where we can improve."

Carlos Sainz - FP2: 1:12.742, P17

“Missing FP1 is never ideal, but Luke did a good job during this mileage-limited weekend. It was a tricky FP2 with low temperatures and cold tyres, so it took a bit of time to get used to that. By the end of the session, I managed to get into a rhythm and did an okay lap on the soft and a decent long run. We are experimenting with setup and doing some correlation work which will help get us in a good position for next year. The weather could bring some opportunities tomorrow.”

Luke Browning – FP1: 1:13.591, P17

“That is FP1 done and dusted here in Brazil. We had a shorter run plan today which limited our mileage but I’m looking forward to debriefing and taking the information gathered back to the team in Grove. That was my fourth and final FP1 session of the year, it’s been great to get more experience in an F1 car, and to drive this challenging track for the first time. I’m looking forward to watching Alex and Carlos for the rest of the weekend and helping the team in any way that I can.”

Cadillac

Bottas had a quiet opener for Cadillac, but it was good to see him back driving after his big crash last weekend in Mexico City. He partnered Herta, who managed a credible 31 laps in the end despite feeling unwell. In the second session, Perez just pipped his team mate by just 0.067s on a day where the gaps tended to be small. But Cadillac look set once again to prop up the field.

Valtteri Bottas - FP1: FP2: 1:13.371, P15; FP2: 1:13.383, P21

“FP1 went well and the pace was encouraging, while in FP2 we focused more on the long runs and understanding the car over a longer stint. Interlagos is always a great track to drive, so it’s been good to get back out there. We’ll dive into the data tonight to see where we can find some more performance and put ourselves in the best possible position for qualifying tomorrow.”

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:13.316, P20

“Good first session for me. The changing weather conditions could definitely create opportunities for us this weekend. We haven’t made a final decision yet on whether we’ll take an additional engine and therefore a penalty, so that’s something we’ll discuss tonight before deciding on our approach for the rest of the weekend. We know anything can happen, particularly in these conditions, and we’ll be ready to make the most of any opportunities that come our way.”

Colton Herta – FP1: 1:14.275, P20

“All wrapped up here in Brazil with Free Practice 1 and what a fantastic track. It’s my first time driving here and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s always a privilege to drive the car, and to be able to do it in three consecutive weekends was amazing. I hope the data can help Checo and Valtteri as we build throughout the weekend.”

Marcin Budkowski, Team Principal

“It’s been a relatively smooth day of running today. Colton had a solid session in FP1 on his track debut here, completing good mileage and gathering valuable data and feedback for the team. In FP2, both Checo and Valtteri completed their run plans and we’ll consolidate their feedback as we plan for qualifying. Operationally, our objective is to maximise every session to prepare ourselves for an unpredictable weekend ahead. With changeable weather conditions often a factor at Interlagos, strong execution will be key to taking advantage of whatever comes our way.”

Pirelli

Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer

“The two free practice sessions were held in very different conditions, providing teams with valuable information ahead of the next two days. In FP1, the higher temperatures led to increased thermal degradation and greater tyre sliding, particularly on the C3. As a result, much of the race simulation work was carried out on the C4 and C5, often with little tyre management, as teams sought to explore their operating limits. Even in these conditions, all three compounds came up to performance quickly from the opening laps, with no significant warm-up issues.

"The second session took place in considerably cooler temperatures and under changeable weather conditions. Some teams experienced greater difficulty bringing the front tyres up to temperature during qualifying simulations, while long-run performance appeared more favourable thanks to reduced overheating and lower degradation levels. The Soft delivered particularly consistent behaviour and confirmed a strong level of performance.

"The absence of graining and similar abrasion levels across all three compounds suggest that degradation will continue to be driven primarily by thermal effects, with wear on the rear-right tyre becoming a factor over longer stints. With forecasts indicating even cooler temperatures for Sunday and a greater than 60% chance of rain, all options remain open at this stage, including wet-weather scenarios. In dry conditions, a two-stop strategy also appears viable, given the relative ease of overtaking at Interlagos. We will continue to analyse the data from the upcoming sessions before reaching any definitive conclusions.”