New world champion Antonelli leads Norris and Verstappen in Brazilian GP practice

Kimi Antonelli, who claimed the Formula 1 world championship last weekend in Mexico to become the series’ youngest ever title holder, continued his strong form by topping second practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos on Friday, edging Lando Norris and Max Verstappen with a 1m10.763s lap.

The Italian Mercedes driver set his benchmark just before the halfway point of the 60-minute session as the field switched to soft-tyre running at the classic 4.3km circuit. His time was a quarter of a second quicker than the three drivers who followed him — a margin that underlines the tightening performance convergence across the field heading into the final races of the 2026 season.

Norris took second in the upgraded McLaren MCL40, which features a new front wing, with a 1m11.016s lap, just 0.006s ahead of third-placed Verstappen, whose session was punctuated by radio complaints about his Red Bull’s clutch. George Russell and Oscar Piastri completed the top five, both within a tenth of Norris.

Russell, who carries a five-place grid penalty this weekend after taking a new engine, had briefly led the soft-tyre running with a 1m11.016s effort before being displaced by his team-mate Antonelli. Earlier in the session, Antonelli had reported heavy bottoming over Interlagos’s bumpy surface but still led the hard-tyre phase with a 1m11.8s lap.

Ferrari had an unusually subdued Friday. Lewis Hamilton, who reported difficulty generating tyre temperatures in the cool, overcast conditions, settled for sixth, while Charles Leclerc was seventh after complaining of being impeded on the straight by Haas debutant Rafael Camara. Hamilton was among several drivers to lock up the front-left wheel at the heavily cambered Turn 1.

Gabriel Bortoleto gave the home crowd reason to cheer with eighth place in the Audi on his home circuit, with Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman rounding out the top ten. Camara, Haas’s confirmed 2027 signing who replaced the ousted Esteban Ocon this weekend, ended up 16th on his first full day as a grand prix driver — half a second off team-mate Bearman.

Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg did not take part in FP2, remaining in the garage after undisclosed technical issues that had also affected FP1 stand-in Freddie Slater earlier in the day. Rain threatened throughout but never fully arrived, with light drops failing to persist despite a weekend forecast that points to wetter conditions ahead.