Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Former champion Max Verstappen finished fastest in Free Practice 3 ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver beating Kimi Antonelli, who has already clinched the 2026 Drivers’ Championship, and Lando Norris to the top of the leaderboard on Saturday.
The Dutchman, who is due to serve a grid penalty for Sunday’s race, posted a 1m 11.622s, leaving him just 0.025s clear of Antonelli at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, the venue confirmed as staying on the Formula 1 calendar until 2035.
Despite the threat of rain and thunderstorms in the area, most drivers and teams were in no rush to immediately head out once the session began at 1130 local time on Saturday.
However, Nico Hulkenberg, the Audi driver having had no running on Friday as his car was driven by Freddie Slater in FP1, ventured out before suffering an early mechanical issue which curtailed any further running.
George Russell was another to hit the track; the Briton set for a five-place grid penalty due to an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) change, while Mercedes teammate Antonelli reported a problem with his steering wheel.
The potential issue didn’t prevent the new World Champion from jumping to the top of the times at the 10-minute mark, the Italian posting a 1m 12.497s as all drivers used Pirelli’s medium tyre for their runs.
Lance Stroll’s challenging season continued as the Aston Martin driver was soon told of a problem with his car and to return to the pits, the Canadian’s running coming to an end after just 15 minutes due to an Energy Recovery System (ERS) issue.
Antonelli lowered the benchmark further, posting a 1m 12.214s to go fractionally faster than Verstappen, with the Dutchman running off the track at Turn 4 when attempting to respond with another effort.
The Red Bull driver is set to start from the back of the grid in Brazil after several power unit changes, with both Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc also given 10-place grid drops for ICE changes.
Hamilton could be due further power unit changes, though; the Briton reported “strange vibrations with the engine” and returned to the pits.
The seven-time World Champion eventually headed back out but returned immediately with “smoke in the cockpit” and a sub-optimal engine noise, with his session coming to an end as 25 minutes remained on the clock.
It took until just 15 minutes remained for drivers and teams to finally focus on Qualifying simulations, with the Pirelli soft tyre making an appearance for the first time in FP3.
Russell became the first driver to dip below the 1m 12s barrier, but he was quickly usurped by Norris, Antonelli and finally Verstappen, the latter sitting fastest on a 1m 11.622s as the quartet was covered by less than two tenths.
Attempts to improve on a second lap with the same set of tyres generally failed throughout the field, leaving Verstappen fastest at the chequered flag from Antonelli, Norris and Russell, just as heavy rain arrived.
Leclerc, Oscar Piastri (McLaren), the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10.
Pierre Gasly’s Alpine was P11, ahead of Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto (Alpine), and Haas drivers Rafael Camara and Ollie Bearman.
Leclerc, Oscar Piastri (McLaren), the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10.
Article Source: IANS
