By: Good evening to all our Formula1.it readers. We expected the Interlagos circuit to suit Red Bull and Mercedes, but we never thought McLaren could join the fight. The Woking-based team has not particularly shone in recent Grands Prix, but its engineers have decided to play a major wildcard.
The rise of Verstappen and Red Bull must be contained, and McLaren are certainly not prepared to surrender third place in the constructors' standings, a position currently held by the Milton Keynes team. Bringing upgrades to Interlagos was part of the plan, according to Promodrou, the team's technical director of aerodynamics. However, seeing a 2027-spec front wing in Sao Paulo as early as November is certainly unusual.
Lando Norris immediately benefited, taking top spot in FP1 ahead of Antonelli and Verstappen. However, we are only at the beginning of practice. McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull have started strongly: we will see where Ferrari can position itself, now that Charles Leclerc will be able to return to the car after stepping aside to give Dino Beganovic the opportunity to complete some laps at the wheel of his SF-26.
Before we begin our FP2 commentary, let us take a look at the Pirelli tyre allocations for the Brazilian GP: the Hard C3, Medium C4 and Soft C5 compounds will be available, the softest combination in the range, just as was the case in Mexico (image: Pirelli graphic).
Pit lane opens: 20:00 Italian time. Live coverage from 19:45.
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Photo: X, Ferrari
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Brazilian GP 2026
