2024 F1 Round 21 São Paulo GP FP1 — Norris fastest in 1:10.610, Russell second, stand-in Bearman third

The 2024 Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix, round 21 of the season, got under way at Interlagos on the evening of 1 November, Beijing time. With the Sprint format allowing only one practice session, McLaren’s Lando Norris topped the times with a 1:10.610. George Russell was second, 0.181 seconds behind, while Oliver Bearman, standing in at Haas for the unwell Kevin Magnussen, finished third. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda was 12th.

The fully resurfaced track was the biggest variable as the drivers explored its grip limits in clear conditions, with an air temperature of 26°C and a track temperature of 57°C. Stand-in Bearman went out as soon as the session began and demonstrated his ability by finishing only 0.195 seconds behind Norris, more than 0.3 seconds quicker than team-mate Nico Hülkenberg in eighth. Championship contender Max Verstappen was only 15th. After matching Russell closely through the first two sectors, he backed off and did not continue pushing.

RB were the quickest of the medium-tyre runners. Liam Lawson finished 11th, 0.691 seconds behind the leader and 0.182 seconds ahead of Tsunoda, who was 12th at 0.873 seconds back, giving RB an early advantage in its battle with Haas for sixth in the constructors’ standings. Oscar Piastri was fourth, Alex Albon fifth, Charles Leclerc sixth and Carlos Sainz seventh. Williams rookie Franco Colapinto and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas finished 13th and 14th respectively, with Sergio Pérez 19th and Zhou Guanyu last.

Sprint qualifying was scheduled for the early hours of 2 November, Beijing time, with the 24-lap Sprint following later that day. The top eight would share the first points available that weekend.