Max third after first day in Sao Paulo: 'Nothing shocking'

Published on 06 November 2026 by Misha van der Kroon

After finishing third in the first free practice session in Sao Paulo, Max Verstappen repeated that result in the second session. Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time in his Mercedes, ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren in P2. George Russell, also in a Mercedes, and Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren completed the top five at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos. Max’s Oracle Red Bull Racing team-mate, Isack Hadjar, finished ninth.

“It wasn’t too bad,” Max says after the second free practice session at Interlagos. “But we still need to find something. From our side, that has to do with the consistency of the power unit.”

Max continues: “We still have a bit of work to do for tomorrow. Nothing shocking, but we do want to be a little bit better.”

The second free practice session gets underway under cloudy skies, with the temperature at twenty degrees Celsius. The track is dry at Interlagos, although the threat of rain has increased. Both Alpine drivers are at the front of the queue when the pit-lane light turns green, with Pierre Gasly the first to set a lap time. After five minutes, the entire field is out on track, with the exception of Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi. The team is still working on that car after Freddie Slater stopped on track in the first free practice session.

Light raindrops can be seen on the camera lenses, and Hadjar reports that it is raining lightly. For now, however, the track remains dry. In the early stages, Antonelli tops the timesheets, with Max’s RB22 in P2. Just as in the first free practice session, Max is not happy with the car. “The car doesn’t turn in and has no grip,” the Dutchman reports over team radio. “We need to find a solution. It’s so strange.” He briefly returns to the pits before heading back out on the same set of medium tyres.

There is more bad news for Hulkenberg, as Audi announces that the German will not return to the track today because his car cannot be repaired in time. Having already missed the first free practice session, he will therefore also be unable to complete any laps in the second session.

After twenty minutes, no one has yet ventured out on the soft tyres, meaning there is still plenty of room for the lap times to come down if the rain holds off. Hadjar is eventually the first to head out on the softs. The Frenchman is unable to get his Red Bull ahead of Antonelli, who remains at the top of the timesheets despite setting his fastest time on the hard tyres. Hadjar settles for P2.

Russell manages to move ahead of Antonelli shortly afterwards. Norris then takes over at the top, while Max moves up to P2, just behind the McLaren. Not long after, Antonelli goes two tenths quicker than Norris to reclaim P1.

With just under half an hour remaining, the track appears to be getting increasingly damp. The lap times are no longer improving, and more and more drivers return to the pits. The conditions are too good for intermediate tyres, but too poor for slicks to set any competitive lap times.

All teams decide to focus on race preparations with long runs rather than carrying out qualifying simulations. Max does so on the medium tyres, having already completed a long run on the softs in the first free practice session. The rain does not intensify, but the low cloud makes it increasingly dark, reducing visibility around the circuit.

Max returns to the pits with five minutes remaining and gets out of his car, bringing his day to an end. The chequered flag is waved shortly afterwards, signalling the end of the second free practice session for the rest of the field as well.

For the Unleash The Lion Brazil Collection and scale models of Max’ Sao Paulo GP helmet, check: https://store.verstappen.com/en/c-19544

Results second free practice Brazil: