Sao Paulo Grand Prix FP1: Norris tops, Verstappen has grid penalty
F1 NewsFriday, 01 November 2024 at 16:36
Lando Norris set the pace in the only practice session for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix ahead of Sprint qualifying on Friday at Interlagos.
Max Verstappen, who is using a new Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) this weekend and will get a grid penalty, was 15th fastest, but to clarify things, he was on a qualifying lap towards the end which would have put him in the top three, but chose to abort in the last moment.
The defending Formula 1 champion seemed to be more focused on the long runs as this has been the weakness in his RB20 recently.
And indeed the RB20 seemed quite fast on the Medium tyres with Verstappen featuring at the sharp end of the standings, that is until his fellow drivers started their qualifying simulations.
Despite having to deal with a bouncy Mercedes W15 all session long, George Russell set the second fastest time behind Norris.
But the star of the session had to be Oliver Bearman who replaced the sick Kevin Magnussen at Haas and ended up third fastest at the end of the 60-minute session.
Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest in the other McLaren, closer to Norris this time which is natural as he has the upgraded MCL38 this weekend.
Alex Albon was fifth fastest for Williams ahead of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who were sixth and seventh in the Ferrari.
The early signs show that Ferrari are not as fast as they've been in Mexico City and Austin, but we will soon find out once they take part in Sprint qualifying.
Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, and Pierre Gasly were eighth, ninth, and tenth respectively.
Buildup towards FP1
We are in the final race of this triple header as F1 heads to Brazil for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix and there is quite a lot to look forward to.
First and foremost is the battel between Verstappen and Norris. In Mexico it was the latter who emerged on top while it was the other way around in Austin two weeks ago.
So who will prevail in Sao Paulo? The gap is now 47 points between the two and this weekend is a Sprint and Verstappen may have to take a new power unit and a grid penalty. At least that is what Dr. Helmut Marko said.
After Austin and Mexico City, Verstappen's driving tactics have been under the radar, but he doesn't care and will continue to do his own thing.
Then we have Ferrari who have won the last two races, and they are on the move, so will they continue their resurgence upsetting the F1 title fight on their way?
As for Pirelli, they brought the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft) this weekend, so how will this rubber deal with the newly surfaced track and which team will nail the car setup?
Only McLaren and Sauber submitted car presentation documents. McLaren brought track specific rear and beam wings as well as a low downforce beam wing.
Sauber have a new front suspension and a circuit specific beam wing.
FP1 will be crucial as it is the penultimate Sprint weekend, so who will be fast out of the box?
FP1 Session highlights
The session started in clear conditions with track temperature at 51 degrees Celsius and air temperature at 26 degrees.
With one hour of practice available this weekend, the teams and drivers did not waste any time and the track was soon very busy.
All the driver were out on the Medium tyre while VCARB bucked the trend with Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson who went out on the Softs.
Albon soo reported an issue with the car, he radioed: "I've lost a headrest pin." He returned to the pits to have it fixed.
Just as the session was underway, it was confirmed that Verstappen will take a new ICE and will serve a five-place grid penalty in Sunday's Grand Prix.
Perez has a new chassis for this weekend as Red Bull look to find a way to help him improve.
Hamilton had a close call with a slow Sainz and just managed to avoid the #55 Ferrari. He wasn't impressed though.
Franco Colapinto, who has quite a number of fans this weekend, had a snap of oversteer in Turn 4, but managed to control the car.
Midway into the session, Hamilton was not happy about the ride of his W15, he said: "Ride quality is still bad."
During the session Haas boss Ayao Komatsu gave an update on their car performance as well as Magnussen's health.
He said: "The upgrades have been working, they've made us faster and both drivers have been driving very well the last few races. [Magnussen] didn't feel very well yesterday, I was hoping he'd get better overnight but he got worse with nausea and sickness.
"I was really hoping Kevin would be able to drive as he's been driving so well. We'll see how it goes, I'm not going to commit to something we don't need to commit too."
Hamilton, once again, had a moment out on track, but this time it was with Norris. It was not as dramatic as the incident with Sainz earlier though.
Russell was the first driver to set a time on the Soft tyres and went to the top of the timing screens almost one second than Verstappen's previously top time which was on the Mediums.
The other drivers were on long runs.
Something worth noting is that there is a general complaint about the bumpiness of the track despite the new surface with the middle sector being the most problematic.
Hamilton was the most vocal though, he radioed: "I'm bouncing across the track everywhere."
But then, maybe this is the bouncy Mercedes W15 Hamilton has to drive this weekend.
In the final ten minutes, the qualifying runs were underway.
Hamilton seemed to be struggling with the ride, seriously, as he told team he was in pain and asked when the session will be over.
In the end of the session, Russell reported: "That was one bumpy ride."
The session was concluded with practice starts.
How they finished
Norris posted the best lap of FP1, 1 :10.610 0.181s clear of second-placed Russell and 0.340s faster than third-placed Bearman in the Haas.
Piastri was fourth, 0.340s off the pace of his teammate and 0.005s ahead of Albon who was fifth for Williams.
Leclerc was sixth, 0.428s off the pace and 0.062s ahead of his teammate, Sainz, who was seventh in the sister car.
Hulkenberg was 0.514s away from the top in eighth, 0.091s ahead of Alonso in ninth, with Gasly 0.001s down the road in tenth.
Sao Paulo Grand Prix FP1 Classification
Latest News
Loading
