Kimi Antonelli Sets Benchmark at Interlagos
Kimi Antonelli wasted no time reminding the paddock why he is Formula 1’s new benchmark.
Five days after sealing the world title in Mexico and becoming the sport’s youngest champion, the Mercedes driver rolled back out at Interlagos and immediately set the tone. Fastest in second practice. The only man under 71 seconds. A 1:10.763 lap that put daylight—two tenths of a second—between himself, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
On a Friday that often flatters and deceives, this one felt different. It felt like a statement.
Champion at ease, rhythm on rails
Interlagos has a way of exposing tension. The bumps, the cambers, the relentless rhythm of the lap punish drivers who carry even a hint of hesitation. Antonelli looked like he’d left all of that in Mexico.
“I think Antonelli has just found a better rhythm around here than anyone else,” observed Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok. It showed. Lap after lap, the Mercedes darted from apex to apex with a looseness that only comes when the pressure gauge drops to zero.
Antonelli himself admitted he is finally driving without the weight of the title on his shoulders. He called it an “enjoyable day”, even as he pointed to low grip, tricky conditions and high tyre degradation on the race runs. The champion sounded relaxed. The stopwatch said ruthless.
The step between FP1 and FP2 underlined that. Second-fastest in the opening session, quickest of all in the more representative afternoon running. Mercedes, still hunting the Constructors’ crown, have a driver who looks like he’s just been let off the leash.
Norris bites back as McLaren’s upgrade lands
If Antonelli owned the headline time, Norris walked away from Friday with his own quiet confidence.
McLaren arrived in Brazil with an upgraded MCL40 and a clear need to reset after a complicated run since their mid-season surge. Norris topped FP1, then slotted into second in FP2, just behind Antonelli and ahead of Verstappen. More importantly for McLaren, his long-run pace looked sharp.
“I think FP1 we seemed quite easily on the pace,” Norris said. “FP2 we struggled a little bit more to match the Mercedes but it’s been a pretty good start to the weekend and we have continued the trend we had in Mexico.”
That “trend” is crucial. McLaren’s upgrades needed to work straight out of the box. Norris sounded satisfied: “We have seemed to gain performance… maybe brought a little bit of lap time, which is what we want.”
They start the weekend 17 points behind Red Bull in the fight for third in the standings. If Friday is any indication, that gap will not be allowed to sit still.
Verstappen lurking, Russell hit with penalty
Max Verstappen rarely shows his full hand on a Friday, but the Red Bull was there or thereabouts again. He finished just behind Norris, third in FP2, close enough to keep both Mercedes and McLaren honest heading into qualifying.
George Russell slotted into fourth in the second Mercedes, backing up the team’s strong pace but with a cloud over his weekend. A fresh engine means a five-place grid penalty, so his Friday speed comes with a caveat. Whatever he does on Saturday, he knows the stewards’ room will drag him back down the order.
Oscar Piastri rounded out the top five in the other McLaren, suggesting the upgrade package is working on both cars, not just under Norris’ hands.
Ferrari still searching after Mexico flashpoint
For Ferrari, the day never quite settled.
On paper, sixth and seventh for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in FP2 is not disastrous. In context, it feels underwhelming. The team arrived in Brazil still carrying the sting of that first-lap clash in Mexico which cost them a likely win and triggered a clear-the-air meeting with team principal Frederic Vasseur on Thursday night.
Short-run pace looked particularly scruffy. The Ferrari still seems to lack that instant bite over one lap that their rivals are finding, even if history says they often find something extra in qualifying trim.
Leclerc’s day came with an extra layer of complexity. He missed Thursday’s media duties and Friday’s first session after flying back from Monaco for the birth of his first child, Bianca, earlier in the week. FP2 was his first real run of the weekend. Sixth and seventh, with Hamilton just ahead, leaves Ferrari work to do overnight.
Audi’s nightmare, Bortoleto’s bright spot
Audi’s Friday was a tale of two garages—and two very different moods.
On one side, Nico Hulkenberg never even set a lap. The German sat out FP1 to allow rookie running, then watched the entire second session from the pits as reliability gremlins refused to budge. A technical problem stopped British youngster Freddie Slater after just seven laps in the first session. An electrical issue then killed any hope of Audi salvaging FP2. Hulkenberg ended the day with a blank timing screen and a very busy engineering debrief ahead.
On the other side, Gabriel Bortoleto turned frustration into opportunity. In the sole-running Audi, the Brazilian delivered an impressive eighth-fastest time ahead of his home grand prix. On a day when his team-mate never turned a wheel in anger, Bortoleto’s lap at least gave Audi a reference point—and the local fans something to cheer.
Behind him, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar took ninth, with Haas’ Oliver Bearman completing the top ten. For all three, it was another valuable day of mileage in a field that suddenly feels crowded with hungry young talent.
New Brazilian hero steps in as Ocon exits
The Brazilian crowd will not be short of home favourites this weekend.
Bortoleto is one. The other is Rafael Camara, thrust into the spotlight after Haas opted to replace Esteban Ocon, who will not race for the team again. At 21, Camara made his F1 debut on home soil and kept it tidy.
His first day in the car was largely incident-free, ending 16th on the timesheets, half a second behind Bearman. That’s a respectable marker for a rookie jumping into the cauldron of Interlagos.
Not everything was smooth. Camara got in Leclerc’s way on the fast uphill blast to the start-finish line and was summoned to the stewards after FP2. A reminder that in F1, every misjudged moment is replayed, dissected and possibly punished.
Even so, for a driver taking his first steps in front of his own crowd, it was a solid opening act.
Weather threat looms over the weekend
Interlagos stayed dry on Friday, even as low, misty cloud crept over the circuit during FP2. No rain, but plenty of warnings.
The forecast for the rest of the weekend is anything but calm. Sao Paulo rain is rarely gentle. It arrives in violent, unpredictable bursts that can flip a grid, rewrite a strategy and turn a dominant car into a passenger.
“Tomorrow will be very, very wet!” Norris predicted. “I would bring your rain jacket and a hat.”
Antonelli sounded ready to roll with whatever the skies throw at him. “It’s so uncertain. We will try to be ready for anything,” he said. The champion talked about being “dynamic”, about fine-tuning car balance and driving style overnight, and about a qualifying session that could tighten into a knife-edge.
He knows what’s coming. A fight.
“McLaren look strong, Red Bull look strong and we know Ferrari in qualifying can find a bit extra,” Antonelli said. “We will all be very close to each other and it will be a very tight qualifying.”
The champion has the early edge. The chasers have pace, upgrades and, quite possibly, a storm on their side.
Interlagos has seen titles decided, legends made and hearts broken in the rain. With Antonelli loose, Norris optimistic and Verstappen lurking, who dares bet this weekend won’t add another chapter?
