Norris fastest in Sao Paulo, Verstappen only fifteenth

Lando Norris set the best time in Free Practice 1, positioning himself ahead of George Russell and Oliver Bearman. Max Verstappen only 15th.

Bearman back behind the wheel of an F1

Just one hour is all the drivers will be allowed to get used to their car on the Interlagos track in Brazil. For the third time this season, we found Oliver Bearman behind the wheel of a single-seater. Indeed, the young British driver comes to replace an ailing Kevin Magnussen at Haas.

It was with soft tires that the majority of drivers took to the track. However, you will probably have to deal with rain and intermediate tires, because the sky will not remain clear in Sao Paulo.

On a track called “ Green“, dirty and not yet scrubbed, we could see many drivers sliding in the last turns of the circuit. The Championship leader informed his engineer that he was sliding a lot with his RB20. Note that the Red Bull driver will receive a five-place penalty on the starting grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

After twenty minutes of driving, Max Verstappen held the provisional best time ahead of George Russell, Sergio Pérez, Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson who was running on soft tires.

Read also: Verstappen finds it “bizarre” that Leclerc was not penalized in Mexico

Lawson in the top 10

Subsequently, Lewis Hamilton entered his name between those of Max Verstappen and George Russell. The three drivers were then within a tenth of each other. For his part, Fernando Alonso demonstrated that he was doing better by positioning himself in the top 5. In fact, the Aston Martin driver had to return to Europe for treatment before returning to Brazil.

In the fight with Max Verstappen in the World Drivers’ Championship, Lando Norris only appeared halfway through the session in 15th place, almost a second behind his rival from Red Bull. His garage neighbor, Oscar Piastri, was just outside the top 10.

Possible replacement for Pérez at Red Bull, Liam Lawson tenth caused a big sensation, positioning himself far ahead of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. In better form during these last races, the Alpine were provisionally positioned in 13th and 14th position. Having been in last places since the start of the season, the Saubers of Zhou and Bottas brought up the rear.

Twenty minutes from the end of the session, the drivers switched to soft tires and would therefore drop the times. The first to do so was George Russell with a time of 1:10.791, allowing him to take the lead on the timesheet.

Also read: Is Lando Norris too nice to Max Verstappen?

Norris sets the best time in EL1

At the wheel of a car in good form at the moment, Oliver Bearman placed his name in second place, just a hundredth of George Russell’s best time. At the same time, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris finished their laps without being able to pass in front of the young Briton.

The big names did not improve their times, keeping the suspense for the sprint qualification.

Ranking of Free Practice 1 of the Brazilian Grand Prix