Norris puts McLaren upgrades to work as Antonelli begins title reign in second

Several young drivers took part in FP1, with Leonardo Fornaroli, Rafael Camara, Freddie Slater, Dino Beganovic, Gabriele Minì and Colton Herta all appearing on the timesheets. Unlike the others, Camara will compete throughout the weekend as a full-time Haas driver. However, the session proved particularly difficult for Slater and Beganovic, who encountered technical problems with their respective cars.

Slater's second appearance for Audi came to a premature end after just a few minutes when a technical problem forced him to stop on track. The incident triggered the only red flag of the session, interrupting the running while his car was recovered.

The British driver was unable to return to the circuit, finishing at the bottom of the standings with a 1:14.966, more than three seconds behind Norris.

Beganovic also encountered problems during his outing for Ferrari. The Swedish driver completed only two laps on the soft compound and was unable to set a representative flying lap on those tyres after Ferrari instructed him to return to the pits towards the end of the session due to an issue with the car. He eventually finished 21st, ahead of only Slater.

At the front, Norris established himself as the fastest driver with a 1:11.717, edging Antonelli by just 0.082 seconds. McLaren was the only team to introduce an upgrade package for the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Norris immediately setting the pace at Interlagos. Verstappen finished third, around two tenths behind the McLaren driver, although the Dutchman was far from satisfied with the handling of his Red Bull.

Throughout the session, Verstappen repeatedly complained about the downshifts, an issue he has frequently raised in the past. He also reported that the steering wheel was becoming increasingly difficult to turn as the session progressed.

Lewis Hamilton secured fourth place for Ferrari, just over three tenths behind Norris, while George Russell completed the top five, almost four tenths off the pace. Isack Hadjar followed in sixth, around four tenths behind the session leader, with Gabriele Minì seventh for Alpine, more than eight tenths adrift.

Gabriel Bortoleto finished eighth for Audi, narrowly ahead of Franco Colapinto in ninth. Liam Lawson completed the top ten for Racing Bulls, just under one second behind Norris.