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McLaren driver Lando Norris set the pace during first practice for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, leading the way from Mercedes rival George Russell and Haas substitute Ollie Bearman at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.
With the Sprint format in play for the penultimate time this season, FP1 took on even greater importance than usual as drivers and teams tried to gather as much data as possible across the only free practice session of the weekend.
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A driver change announced on Friday morning saw Ferrari-backed super-sub Bearman return to action yet again, taking the place of the unwell Kevin Magnussen at Haas to build up some more experience ahead of his full-time debut in 2025.
Regular F2 racer Bearman was, unsurprisingly, quick to head out as the green light switched on at the end of the pit lane, getting back into a rhythm and – along with the rest of the field – learning about grip levels around a newly resurfaced track.
There were plenty of slips and slides as drivers tried to find the limit on the dark, sun-absorbent surface, with Franco Colapinto drifting his way out of the sweeping, downhill Mergulho corner and Yuki Tsunoda just about holding onto a wild slide in the middle sector.
A third of the way through the 60-minute outing, it was reigning champion Max Verstappen – via some early radio frustration – who led the way with a 1m 11.712s on medium tyres, following confirmation that he will take a grid penalty this weekend.
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As the session developed, Lewis Hamilton made some gains to slot between pace-setter Verstappen and team mate Russell, despite reporting that “the ride quality is still bad” aboard his Mercedes and having experienced close calls with the slow-moving Carlos Sainz and Norris at Juncao.
Fastest lap times were traded through to the chequered flag, with Norris ultimately coming out on top thanks to his effort of 1m 10.610s on soft tyres, a couple of tenths up on Russell – who echoed Hamilton’s comments about a “bumpy ride” – and standout practice performer Bearman.
Oscar Piastri made it two McLarens in the top four positions, from the lead Williams of Alex Albon and Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Sainz, while the other Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.
RB pair Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda only posted times on medium rubber en route to P11 and P12 respectively, ahead of the aforementioned Colapinto, Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Verstappen, who bailed out of a soft-shod lap late in the session.
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Hamilton was another driver to set their best time on mediums, as Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) completed the FP1 order.
Drivers and their teams will now regroup in the paddock and dig through the data before heading straight into Sprint Qualifying, which is scheduled to get under way at 1530 local time.
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