Interlagos, Brazil – McLaren dominated the first and only practice session of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with Lando Norris leading teammate Oscar Piastri in a remarkable 1-2 finish. Norris clocked in a fastest lap of 1m09.975s, narrowly edging out Piastri by just 0.023s, setting the stage for an intense sprint weekend. Nico Hulkenberg surprised with a third-place finish for Sauber, six-tenths of a second behind the McLarens.
The session, delayed slightly due to track cleaning, quickly ramped up as teams optimized their setups for sprint qualifying. Most teams began with Pirelli's hardest C2 compound to gather data on long runs, as grip gradually improved on the resurfaced Interlagos circuit. George Russell initially led with 1m11.188s on hard tires, while Red Bull faced challenges, including Yuki Tsunoda clipping the Turn 4 barriers and Max Verstappen running wide at the same corner.
As the track rubbered in, teams switched to medium tires in the final 20 minutes. Alex Albon briefly topped the leaderboard before being displaced by Carlos Sainz, followed by improvements from Russell and the Sauber duo of Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Piastri's 1m09.998s appeared to secure the top spot until Norris's final flying lap.
Norris, who recently regained the championship lead, aims to maintain momentum after a strong performance in Mexico. "It's nice to still prove to myself every now and then what I'm capable of and what I can achieve," Norris stated. "It's also just consistency. It's not like I've won the last six or seven races, but I've been consistently up there and consistently scoring points. And that's actually the thing that's given me the biggest boost over the last few weeks". Despite leading the championship, Norris remains grounded: "It doesn't mean anything for the time being. It's nice to be there, but I still need to go and try and win this weekend, and the next".
McLaren's strong showing underscores their focus on securing both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 2025. The team secured back-to-back Constructors' Championships and aims to capitalize on the current ground-effect regulations. The intense intra-team rivalry between Norris and Piastri has been a defining narrative of the season, pushing both drivers to excel.
Looking ahead to the rest of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, the McLaren drivers will aim to carry their practice pace into sprint qualifying and the race. The unique characteristics of Interlagos, including its challenging infield section and banked final turn, combined with the sprint format, promise an action-packed event.
