Ferrari has topped a busy sole practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after both McLaren drivers abandoned laps that likely would have put them in top spot.
Carlos Sainz took to the track late on softs and clocked the Interlagos circuit at 1m 11.732s. Teammate Charles Leclerc followed him at 0.108s adrift. But most drivers opted not to use the soft tire for a one-lap simulation in a difficult-to read session focused largely on long-run performance for the sprint and the grand prix.
Just eight drivers sampled the red-marked tire, including the Ferrari te ammates. Mercedes’ George Russell in third used a new set of mediums for his flying lap early in the session and ended up just 0.133s off top spot, placing him in a theoretically better position accounting for the differences between compounds.
Oscar Piastri was another driver to break in a set of softs. The McLaren rookie claimed purple sectors at the first two splits and set for a time that would have put him among the Ferrari drivers but bailed into pit lane before setting his time, instead completing the rest of the session on the hard tire.
Teammate Lando Norris did likewise with a fresh set of mediums, getting to within around 0.15s of his teammate before abandoning the lap. They instead propped up the time sheet at the bottom of the pile.
Nico Hulkenberg was fourth fastest on a set of softs at 0.196s off the pace but ended the hour complaining of a loss of power after rumbling over the curbs exiting Turn 4. The German also ends the session facing a stewards investigation for an unusual collision with Norris at Juncao.
