Liam Lawson ran a tidy, drama-free 23 laps in this morning’s sole practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos to go 11th fastest.
Lawson’s best time of 1:11.301 came late in the one-hour session and was on the medium compound.
A freshly resurfaced circuit and softer compounds available compared to the same event last year brought a rapid improvement in pace, but was met with criticism from drivers who complained about the bumpy surface and rapid tyre degradation.
It also meant for extended long runs as teams battled to find the right setup ahead of the weekend.
A late flyer from Lando Norris, 1:10.610, came as the chequered flag flew to better George Russell’s 1:10.791 benchmark, relegating the Mercedes driver to second.
Norris’s time would have earned him pole in the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Oliver Bearman, a surprise addition to the grid for Haas after Kevin Magnussen came down with an illness, impressed to go third quickest, only 0.014 seconds off the lead Mercedes.
Oscar Piastri was fourth, ahead of Alex Albon, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, and Pierre Gasly, who entered the top ten at Lawson’s expense in the closing minutes.
Eighteen of the 20 cars took to the track on mediums to start the session, with Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda spending the bulk of their time on softs.
Rapid track evolution brought plenty of improvement late in the one-hour practice, with the leaderboard shuffling franticly over the final 10 minutes.
Among those not to set a time on softs were Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez, who finished the session in 16th and 19th, respectively, while championship leader Max Verstappen aborted his fast lap in the final sector, having gone fastest through the first sector and only lost slight time in Sector 2.
Tsunoda finisged the session in 12th, nearly two-tenths behind his teammate.
The Brazilian Grand Prix returns at 7.30 am NZST on Saturday for Sprint qualifying.
Sao Paulo Grand Prix FP1 Results
| 1st | Lando Norris | 1:10.610 |
| 2nd | George Russell | +0.181 |
| 3rd | Oliver Bearman | +0.195 |
| 4th | Oscar Piastri | +0.340 |
| 5th | Alex Albon | +0.345 |
| 6th | Charles Leclerc | +0.428 |
| 7th | Carlos Sainz | +0.490 |
| 8th | Nico Hulkenberg | +0.514 |
| 9th | Fernando Alonso | +0.605 |
| 10th | Pierre Gasly | +0.606 |
| 11th | Liam Lawson | +0.691 |
| 12th | Yuki Tsunoda | +0.873 |
| 13th | Franco Colapinto | +1.009 |
| 14th | Valtteri Bottas | +1.041 |
| 15th | Max Verstappen | +1.102 |
| 16th | Lewis Hamilton | +1.144 |
| 17th | Lance Stroll | +1.173 |
| 18th | Esteban Ocon | +1.217 |
| 19th | Sergio Perez | +1.235 |
| 20th | Zhou Guanyu | +2.273 |
Header Image: Red Bull Content Pool/ Getty Images
