Carlos Sainz recorded the fastest time, surpassing his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, on Friday during the only free practice session before the São Paulo Grand Prix in the Formula 1 World Championship. The Brazilian Grand Prix will host the last sprint race of the season, with qualifying for Sunday’s race happening later on Friday, while the qualifying for the sprint race and the 100-kilometer sprint will take place on Saturday.
Sainz posted a time of 1:11.732, just 0.108 seconds ahead of Leclerc at the end of the session, after both utilized soft tires in stormy conditions. Mercedes driver George Russell, the winner of last year's race, finished third, 0.133 seconds off the lead, while using medium tires. Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg took fourth place on soft tires.
Russell was the fastest in free practice until the two Ferrari drivers switched to soft tires near the end. Max Verstappen, the three-time world champion from Red Bull, finished in 16th place, with his teammate Sergio Pérez in 18th, both having used hard tires. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes came in 12th after setting his best time on medium tires.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from McLaren occupied the last two positions, which appeared to be a team strategy as they set their times on hard tires, with Piastri scrapping a quick lap on soft tires. There was a collision involving the tires of Norris and Hülkenberg, which is under investigation by the stewards.
