Norris tops the first and last free practice of Sao Paulo GP

Lando Norris leads the field in the first and only practice session in Brazil, followed by George Russell in second and substituting Oliver Bearman in third.

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Since the Sao Paulo Grand Prix is a sprint event, the drivers only got one free practice session to get used to the newly resurfaced Interlagos circuit and collect much-needed data for the weekend.

Earlier today, it was announced that Oliver Bearman will be stepping in for Kevin Magnussen in Haas as the Danish driver is feeling unwell.

Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, managed to recover from his intestinal infection and after missing the media day yesterday, he was ready to jump in his Aston Martin today and set the ninth-fastest lap time.

The session started off slowly with Sergio Perez setting the fastest time, taken a bit later by his teammate Max Verstappen.

Franco Colapinto was the first one to make a bit of drama as he got a little out of share in Turn 4 but managed to save it.

Lewis Hamilton then had a big moment as he almost crashed into slow-moving Carlos Sainz, who he will next year replace in Ferrari.

Franco Colapinto has a moment exiting Turn 4 😮

A reminder that this famous old circuit has a brand new track surface this weekend 👀#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/ansugnpKTw
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 1, 2024

George Russell then suffered a puncture on his medium tyres, spending a bit of time in the garage as set-up changes were needed. He got out of the pits a few minutes later on a new set of soft tyres.

When other drivers put on their soft tyres as well, the floodgates have opened with many improving drivers.

Bearman squeezed his Haas into second place, while both McLarens were also pretty fast. Red Bull, on the other hand, struggled with Perez sitting in P16 and Verstappen P17.

Towards the end of the session, Lewis Hamilton was reporting being in pain over the radio due to the Mercedes bouncing, therefore, he finished only fiftheenth.

A bit longer in the garage for George but he now heads out on track

He also got a puncture on his previous set of Mediums so now switches to the Soft for his next run - following a few set-up tweaks pic.twitter.com/Sb0MOetQoR
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 1, 2024

Lando Norris set the fastest lap in the last minute of FP1, ahead of George Russell, who managed to pull a great lap despite struggles with bouncing throughout the whole practice.

Oliver Bearman finished third with a good start to the substituting weekend, followed by second McLaren of Oscar Piastri. Alex Albon in Williams completed the top 5.

Max Verstappen managed to get only the fifteenth fastest time out of his RB20, while his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished first from last.