McLaren 1-2 At Sao Paulo Practice! Norris Reiterates Crown Ambitions

F1 championship leader Lando Norris delivered an early statement against his McLaren teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri on Friday, leading a dominant one-two in the sole practice session for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Brit Norris is just a solitary point ahead of the Aussie Piastri with four rounds remaining as the McLaren drivers look to take the championship to the wire.

The 25-year-old Norris, clocked the fastest lap at the Interlagos circuit with a time of one minute 09.975 seconds on medium tyres. Piastri, who relinquished the lead to Norris in Mexico last month, finished 0.023 seconds slower after Norris set the best time on his final flying lap of the session.

McLaren, having already secured the constructors’ title for the second consecutive

year, once again appeared significantly faster than their competitors.

Due to it being a sprint weekend, the fifth of six this season, drivers have only one practice session, with the usual second practice replaced by qualifying for Saturday’s 100km race.

Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was third fastest, 0.619 seconds off the pace, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in fourth.

Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, Hulkenberg’s teammate preparing for his first home race, was fifth on the timesheets, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell in sixth and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in a surprising seventh.

Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who missed Thursday’s media day due to illness, was eighth, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was 18th, while Lewis Hamilton, a three-time winner in Brazil, finished 19th. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the closest title rival to the McLaren duo, was only 17th without any laps on medium tyres.

Both Ferrari drivers opted for hard tyres during the session, with Hamilton spinning at turn 11 in the final moments.

Verstappen, 36 points off the lead, won from 17th in Brazil last year. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda spun on the kerb and hit the barriers at turn four early in the session, managing to return to the pits with damage to his front and rear wings.

The Japanese driver returned to the track after repairs, with 25 minutes remaining.

“You never want to start the session like that. These things happen,” team boss Laurent Mekies told Sky Sports television.