Given the Sprint format, FP1 took on greater significance than the usual Friday schedule, with only 60 minutes available for teams to understand and fine-tune their cars before qualifying on the technical Interlagos circuit. READ MORE: Unpredictable weather, a brilliant track and the return of the Sprint – Sao Paulo is set to deliver on all fronts After the drivers spent the early stages collecting data on the hard and medium tires – Verstappen led with a hard lap time of 1m 13.575s – the first sets of softs appeared near the halfway mark, leading to a flurry of improvements. Perez sparked the switch to red rubber, dropping to 1m 11.853s, with Verstappen initially in P2, 0.008s behind, as the reigning double world champion reported over the radio that his RB18 was “not turning”. 1 Sergio Perez PER Red Bull Racing 1:11.853 2 Charles Leclerc LEC Ferrari +0.004s 3 Max Verstappen VER Red Bull Racing +0.008s 4 Carlos Sainz SAI Ferrari +0.186s 5 Lewis Hamilton HAM7 Mercedes +0.1 In the closing minutes of the session, Leclerc would edge the struggling Verstappen by 0.004s to separate the Red Bulls after Ferrari made a late switch to soft tires – Carlos Sainz took fourth, just under two tenths back. Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were both within touching distance of Sainz in P5 and P6 respectively, despite Hamilton saying he “felt like the rear was floating” and locking up at the start of the soft tire travel. READ MORE: Hamilton’s charge in Sao Paulo, Alonso’s rocket start and Bottas guiding him – 7 top F1 Sprint moments Sebastian Vettel put Aston Martin in seventh as his F1 retirement looms ever closer, with Haas driver Mick Schumacher, the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly completing the top 10. Alpine pair Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon made a low-key start to the weekend in P11 and P13 respectively – neither Alpine nor rival McLaren are running soft tires in the session – sandwiched by Williams man Alex Albon, with Lance’s other Aston Martin Stroll 14th after reporting technical issues. Drivers and teams ran full FP1 programs to prepare for qualifying Unwell on Thursday, Lando Norris managed to lead the McLaren in P15, followed by the rest of the Haas and Williams machines of Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) completed the field, which covered 1.5 seconds around the 4,309km venue. READ MORE: Verstappen sees ‘good chance’ to extend F1 wins record at Interlagos as Perez targets Red Bull 1-2 in standings In an otherwise quiet session, a slow Norris on the exit of the Senna Esses drew the ire of Sainz, with Stroll frustrating Leclerc in another traffic-related incident on the run to Juncao. After the 1st FP, attention immediately turns to qualifying in Sao Paulo, which is scheduled to start at 16:00 local time. Visit the RACE HUB for more information. Who will score at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix 2022? Choose your dream team before qualifying and take on the world to win huge prizes with the Official Fantasy Formula 1 game. Sign up, join leagues and manage your team here.
