In the first and only Formula 1 free practice session for the São Paulo GP, Carlos Sainz led. This Friday (3), the Ferrari driver clocked 1min11s732, on soft tires, and was at the top of the timesheet in a session marked by many team tests.
Charles Leclerc, the Spaniard’s teammate at the Italian team, was second: 1min11s840. George Russell, from Mercedes, came in third — on medium tires, he was 0s133 behind the leader.
On-track activities for the São Paulo Formula 1 GP began this Friday (3). At 3pm (Brasília time), the pilots carry out the qualifying session.
On Saturday (4), qualifying day for the sprint and the short race itself, at 11am and 3:30pm, respectively. Finally, on Sunday, the São Paulo GP takes place at 2pm.
How was free training 1 at Interlagos:
The session started with the usual Red Bull dominance. Verstappen led the start time table, while Sergio Pérez was in second place. Mercedes, with Hamilton and George Russell, was right behind — Nico Hülkenberg, from Haas, was the big surprise.
This was the scenario until, with 37 minutes remaining, Yuki Tsunoda took the lead in training by being the first to test medium tires: a time of 1min12s802.
Meanwhile, the experienced Fernando Alonso was dealing with problems in his Aston Martin — a puncture in the left rear tire compromised his start of the session.
With most teams in racing simulation programs, Hülkenberg and Lando Norris touched wheels at turn 12, the ‘Dive’. The Haas driver, however, continued in great shape, even nipping at the lead of the session — he was, however, overtaken by Russell.
In the final stretch, the teams from the world’s main motorsport category were concerned about following the preparation schedule for the race and qualifying — therefore, many tests with different tire compounds were carried out. The fact that, due to the sprint, Interlagos only had one free training session contributed to the slow scenario.
However, Ferrari took advantage of the last few laps of the clock to, on soft tires, achieve a one-two finish: Carlos Sainz ahead and Charles Leclerc in second.
*With Agencies
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