F1 qualifying: Kevin Magnussen takes shock Brazilian Grand Prix pole
08:43 PM
Qualifying report
Magnussen beats Verstappen and Russell at gloomy Interlagos
Haas’s Kevin Magnussen took an extraordinary and hugely unexpected pole position for Saturday's sprint race at Interlagos after Mercedes’ George Russell spun off the track in wet conditions in Q3.
Magnussen – the 30 year-old Dane who only returned to the sport at the start of this season after a year in the wilderness and whose previous best qualifying performance was fourth, which he achieved twice for McLaren back in 2014 – had done extremely well just to make it into the final top-10 shootout. But having set a solid opening mark, his day turned from good to miraculous as Russell’s spin brought out the red flags, causing the session to be suspended.
With rain beginning to fall heavily as the cars sat in the pits, it slowly dawned on everyone that his mark would be unbeatable. Sure enough, none of Formula One’s big beasts were able to set a competitive time when the track reopened.
ABSOLUTE SCENES!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/rM3bRHONJh
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) November 11, 2022
It was a rare victory for one of the sport’s minnows and Magnussen celebrated appropriately, jumping out of his car and leaping into the arms of his team-mates. “I don’t know what to say, the team put me out on track at exactly the right moment," he said. "Pole is incredible. Thank you to Gene Haas [team owner] and Guenther [Steiner, team principal] for this opportunity.”
World champion Max Verstappen, of Red Bull, will start from second on the grid on Saturday, with Russell third.
Mercedes are attempting to complete what would be an incredible comeback to second place in the constructors’ championship, having begun this campaign miles off the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull.
Heading into the 'sprint' race, which sees the top eight drivers awarded points and determines the start positions for Sunday's full grand prix, the Brackley team lie just 40 points behind the Scuderia. Hamilton will do well to bank many points from eighth on the grid after being caught out by a combination of his team-mate's crash and the weather.
With the rain stopping and starting, it was a fairly hectic qualifying session all round. There was a scramble to switch from intermediates to slicks at the end of Q1, which nearly caught out a few big names, Leclerc among them.
The situation was then reversed in Q2 as the rain began to fall again and the drivers tried to nail a quick lap before the track got too slippery. Verstappen ended up going quickest, ahead of the two Ferraris. Hamilton rode his luck, going through ninth fastest, one tenth off the drop zone.
Q3 produced one of the stories of the year, with Magnussen trying hard not to get carried away as he realised what was happening. "You are f------ kidding me,” he remarked over team radio as the rain began to fall more heavily and the realisation dawned on him that his time would be unbeatable. “I have never felt like this in my life.”
08:29 PM
That really was a fine lap from Magnussen
Everyone else (aside from Leclerc) had the same tyres on and none of them beat him. It has been an up and down season for the Dane after returning following a year out, but he could be ending it on a high.
It will be a struggle for him to keep it there tomorrow, but the conditions could be similar to today. Either way there is a decent chance to pick up some points and get himself in a good position for even more points on Sunday.
08:22 PM
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner reacts
I think number one. If you dream about it... you are scared to dream about it. The whole team is trying hard for seven years and circumstances let us pull this one off. It was not luck, it was well deserved... Kevin putting a lap down when it was needed. He was first out there, but he was on his own. When it rains soup you need to have spoon ready and we had a spoon today.
At the right time he put the lap down... it was a perfect lap down. The last races were not good for him. Everybody went out there quick on the slicks because we knew what rain was coming. The other cars were only 10, 15, 20 seconds but they couldn't do what he did.
08:14 PM
Magnussen speaks after his first career pole
I don't know what to say. The team put me out on track on exactly the right moment... we were the first out on the pit lane and did a pretty decent lap. Thank you to Gene Haas and Guenter and the whole team for this opportunity. Thank you. It's incredible. Thank you.
Maximum attack, let's go for something funny.
08:12 PM
Russell reacts to third
Firstly, happy to be P3 and massive congrats to Kevin. P3 not necessarily where we want to be but very good place to be starting for tomorrow's sprint race. I think that's our best shot at trying to finish ahead of Max and Red Bull, if we have mixed conditions.
08:12 PM
Verstappen speaks after his second spot
We knew that it was going to be that one lap because there was the potential rain... I locked up into turn eight and that cost me pole today. Compared to the proper opposition for tomorrow it's looking good. We're still up front. It was difficult, you have to find the limit of how far you can push but you don't want to have mistakes and drop out. Q3 was a bit more of a lottery but nevertheless still on the front row. I will always try to have fun but I think the approach will always be the same. I have no clue what is going to happen [with the weather] tomorrow.
08:10 PM
Q3 - Classification
MAG 1:11.674
VER +0.203
RUS +0.385
NOR +0.589
SAI +0.683
OCO +0.751
ALO +0.830
HAM +0.937
PER +3.927
LEC (no time)
08:10 PM
KEVIN MAGNUSSEN TAKES POLE POSITION FOR THE BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX SPRINT
Magnificent. This means that he will start the sprint race tomorrow ahead of everyone else, but this goes down in the books as a pole position.
Those reactions are exactly why we LOVE F1! ❤️
Kevin Magnussen will be on POLE for tomorrow's Sprint! pic.twitter.com/xGYZkXAYAu— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 11, 2022
08:07 PM
Q3 - Ecstatic scenes in the Haas garage
Magnussen is just sitting in his car grinning as there are huge cheers in the garage around him.
He gets out, pats his car in celebration and then takes a hundred hugs from his team in garage.
Wonderful. Guenther Steiner heads back to the pit lane and embraces the Dane. Glorious and joyous scenes.
08:05 PM
Q3 - Perez comes back into the pits
His middle sector was 12 seconds slower than Russell's fastest middle sector so that shows you the track conditions.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton goes out to do a demonstration run in the wet on intermediate tyres.
Magnussen is going to get pole. Astonishing. Fair point that eight drivers had a clean lap in and Magnussen was quicker than anyone else.
08:03 PM
Q3 - Five mins remain
Leclerc is out of the car. He's chatting with Laurent Mekies on the pit wall about that odd decision to not only send him out on the intermediates, but then to keep him out there for two laps. Bizarre.
08:01 PM
Q3 resumes!
8 mins and 10 secs on the clock. And it is raining. Cars going out on the intermediates. Well, car: it's Sergio Perez.
In fairness he is four seconds off the pace so might improve? But he's not going to improve to beat anyone ahead of him. Maybe it will be a shoot-out between Perez and Leclerc for ninth place?
07:58 PM
DRS has been disabled with this rain
And the session is going to resume in one minute's time with eight minutes still on the clock. The rain is not heavy but you would think it would be difficult for anyone to beat...
07:57 PM
Magnussen on the radio... when he is told he is P1
You are kidding. You are kidding me. I have never, ever felt like this in my life.
Don't celebrate yet, he is told.
07:56 PM
Q3 - It was a strange incident for Russell
He locked up at turn four, went straight on into the gravel trap, managed to keep it out of the wall getting it onto the escape road and then tried a spin turn which then put his rear end deep, deep into the gravel.
How George Russell beached his Mercedes 👇 pic.twitter.com/VeUSOD0R0D
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 11, 2022
And it looks the rain is getting heavier... which would be brilliant news for Haas and Magnussen.
07:53 PM
Q3 - RED FLAG
George Russell has binned it, I think. He's beached it in the gravel track and the rear end looks damaged, too...
🔴 RED FLAG 🔴
Russell beaches his car in the gravel#BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/J3dRCLzAuD— Formula 1 (@F1) November 11, 2022
07:52 PM
Q3 - Top 10 after the first laps
MAG 1:11.674
VER +0.203
RUS +0.385
NOR +0.589
SAI +0.683
OCO +0.751
ALO +0.830
HAM +0.937
PER +3.927
LEC (no time)
07:52 PM
Q3 - It's not working for Leclerc on these tyres
And that means it's not working for Perez, because the Red Bull is behind him...
Magnussen goes fastest.. two tenths ahead of Verstappen!
In comes Leclerc after that experiment to change for slicks.
07:50 PM
Q3 - Hamilton told the weather is "inbound"
"We're going to have to go from lap one," his race engineer Pete Bonnington says.
07:49 PM
Q3 begins!
This could be fun... Wait, everyone is not on slicks. Leclerc is on intermediates which seems like an odd gamble at this time.
🟢 Q3 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
Top 10 shootout time
Leclerc's gambling with inters #BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/T4gNbRYeUu— Formula 1 (@F1) November 11, 2022
Verstappen is told rain is incoming... but then what if everyone else gets a lap in on the slicks, which are the right tyre for, say, two or three minutes. Strange choice for Leclerc. Might have worked for Magnussen or someone unlikely to get pole.
07:48 PM
Is this going to be a dry or damp session?
Or both... it is very, very gloomy out there. A huge queue of cars at the end of the pit lane, definitely. Magnussen heads the lot of them. Everyone on slicks.
07:43 PM
Q2 ends - Classification
VER 1:10.881
SAI +0.009
LEC +0.069
RUS +0.437
NOR +0.496
ALO +0.513
MAG +0.529
PER +0.575
HAM +0.658
OCO +0.706
ELIMINATED:ALB
GAS
VET
RIC
STR
07:42 PM
Q2- Final runs under way... sort of
A fair few drivers not bothering or coming back into the pits...
Stroll has a poor first sector and so will be out, Albon pits and will also be out. Ricciardo pits which means he is out as well. Too slippery out there now to improve? It might be. Vettel pits and Ocon pits but he sneaks through.
07:40 PM
Q2 - Magnussen needs to find a lap to get into Q3
He does, going seventh provisionally. Might be difficult to stay there.
Albon, Gasly, Vettel, Ricciardo and Stroll now in the drop zone. Verstappen dives into the pits.
07:39 PM
Q2 - Russel into third
But then gets bumped down to fourth as Sainz goes second, 0.009s off Verstappen.
07:38 PM
Q2 - Vettel goes eighth...
So the track obviously isn't that bad. Norris moves back up into the top two, half a second off Verstappen's 1:10.881... times are getting better now, but it does look to be getting darker.
07:38 PM
Q2 - Current order as the rain starts to fall again
VER
ALO
RUS
HAM
LEC
NOR
GAS
MAG
PER
SAI
DROP ZONE:OCO
ALB
VET
RIC
STR
Vettel is improving this time, though...
07:37 PM
Q2 - Sainz says it's raining a lot
Vettel is 3.3s off where he needs to be after two sectors which does suggest that the track has become a fair amount more slippery, although Stroll is improving a bit. It's not enough for him to get out of the drop zone, though.
07:36 PM
Q2 - Hamilton goes fourth
Within a tenth of his team-mate and 0.221s off Verstappen. Not much movement elsewhere in the order, though.
07:35 PM
Q2 - Russell is getting faster
This lap should see him out of the drop zone... it does, to go third, 0.157s off Verstappen.
Hamilton is also improving but he really needs to. He's looking okay, but not much more than that.
07:34 PM
Q2 - Top 10 so far
VER
ALO
LEC
NOR
GAS
MAG
PER
SAI
OCO
ALB
ELIMINATION ZONE: VET, RIC, RUS, STR, HAM
It is definitely getting darker and gloomier out there, but no sign of significant rain... yet. Keep an eye on lap times, though. Is anyone improving?
07:33 PM
Q2 - Verstappen improves to go fastest
Just under eight minutes to go. Leclerc into third. Hamilton goes onto a fresh set of soft tyres. He is currently 15th and last.
07:33 PM
Q2 - Alonso goes fastest
Perez gets himself out of the drop zone, but is only sixth, 0.305s off Alonso.
07:32 PM
Q2 - Drivers in the drop zone
STR, VET, PER, HAM, RIC.
A couple of drivers say there is some spits and spots of rain. Russell very keen to get onto the new slick tyre...
07:31 PM
Q2 - Magnussen goes fastest in the first sector
Can he put another two good sectors together? Yes, he does... into fourth, just 0.120s off Norris.
07:31 PM
Q2 - Mercedes nowhere after that first run
12th and 13th for Russell and Hamilton. Mercedes do tend to struggle with tyre warm-up, though.
Verstappen does not improve on his first time with a second hot lap...
07:30 PM
Q2 - Norris goes fastest!
Just under a tenth faster than Verstappen, though the Dutchman was on used soft tyres and Norris, I think, on fresh ones. Still a good lap.
Gasly sneaks into the top three, ahead of Alonso, Albon and Sainz.
07:29 PM
Q2 - 13 mins remain
Busy out there on track with all 15 drivers currently circulating.
Verstappen posts an 18.275 in sector one. Decent.
Verstappen crosses the line with a 1:11.670... Norris is on a good lap, though.
07:26 PM
Q2 begins!
15 minutes, 10 drivers to go through and five out. DRS has been enabled.
07:26 PM
Any chance of that rain, then?
Looks like it might be dry for the while according to Alpine's Otmar Szafnauer.
07:25 PM
Schumacher on the radio
We didn't get through? What?
Schumacher seemed pretty surprised that he did not make it to Q2.
Leclerc not happy for other reasons, namely being blocked by the AlphaTauri of Tsunoda.
Yuki, Yuki. Yuki it's a joke. It's a f------ joke.
07:22 PM
Q1 ends - Classification
NOR 1:13.106
HAM +0.297
ALO +0.436
VET +0.491
PER +0.507
VER +0.519
MAG +0.848
ALB +1.218
GAS +1.265
STR +1.292
RUS +1.321
LEC +1.380
OCO +1.557
SAI +1.574
RIC +1.825
OUT:LAT
ZHO
BOT
TSU
MSC
07:20 PM
Q1 - Can Hamilton get out of Q1?
Yes, he goes first... nice lap.
Verstappen now 16th after that but moves up to fourth to get through.
Bottas cannot improve and is eliminated.
Norris fastest, ahead of Hamilton now...
07:19 PM
Q1 - Albon goes fastest
Perez rounds the final few turns... he needs to find a good lap. This will be his last lap as the time runs out. He goes sixth.
Leclerc likewise needs to find a lap... He does and goes fifth.
Hamilton now 18th. He cannot mess up...
07:18 PM
Q1 - Drop zone
It's Perez, Leclerc, Zhou, Bottas and Magnussen.
07:18 PM
Q1 - Vettel into third now
20 cars on track and every one of them on slick tyres...
Latifi goes fastest! For now. Hamilton only fifth.
Now Norris fastest... Verstappen into second, but a whopping 1.3s off Norris's time...
Russell now second...
You get the picture. Ferrari making a mess of this. Leclerc getting into traffic and abandoning his lap, which means he nearly gets in the way of Sainz behind, but Sainz picks up a nice tow to go third.
07:16 PM
Q1 - Albon into second
Norris on a good lap... he goes second, replacing Albon.
Gasly had improved his previous lap but not by a huge amount I do not think.
Ricciardo into fifth, putting Zhou and Sainz into the drop zone. Leclerc 15th. This is going to change rapidly.
07:15 PM
Q1 - Gasly goes fastest...
But not by a mile, four tenths faster than Hamilton. That will lead the race to switch to slick tyres, though. Leclerc is in the pits and Ferrari are messing around with a tyre choice. They're putting fresh soft tyres on now. But very, very slowly. Odd.
The reason why Gasly lost 1.4s in the final sector is because he got a BIG wobble on in the penultimate turn...
He's going again, though. And is getting faster.
Three minutes remain.
07:14 PM
Q1 - Hamilton leads Verstappen and Alonso
Mick Schumacher in fourth and within four tenths. Gasly, Ricciardo, Magnussen and the two Williams cars in the drop zone. Gasly has just set the fastest first sector and is 1.8s up after two sectors... so will go fastest by a mile here.
07:13 PM
Q1 - Six mins remain
Gasly two seconds off after two sectors. Still, this might work for him as he will be able to get heat into the tyres by the end of the session, whereas for others it might be too late to do that.
07:12 PM
Q1 - Hamilton goes fastest
Ahead of Verstappen by 0.147s.
Let's keep an eye on Gasly's first sector time on the slick tyres. His first sector isn't too bad, actually... but that is probably the driest sector.
07:11 PM
Q1 - Top 10 with eight mins left
VER
ALO
PER
OCO
RUS
LEC
NOR
ZHO
SAI
SAI
STR
DROP ZONE: TSU, MAG, MSC, ALB, LAT
Magnussen loses his lap for a track limits infringement.
07:10 PM
Q1 - Norris says it's still intermediate conditions
But it looks like an AlphaTauri is about to go to slicks. It's Gasly. Let's see how that goes.
It's Gasly!
Pierre pops on the soft tyres #BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/nPmgndKqjJ— Formula 1 (@F1) November 11, 2022
Magnussen on a flyer... he goes third, behind Alonso and Verstappen.
07:08 PM
Q1 - 11 mins remain
Norris moves up into third, Hamilton into sixth, 0.669s off Verstappen's 1:18.495.
Alonso on a brilliant lap and goes fastest of all by 0.083s.
Times tumbling and tumbling and tumbling.
07:07 PM
Q1 - Sainz moves into second
Russell fifth but Hamilton only 12th, but with the fastest final sector of the day so far. Verstappen gets a bit of a wiggle on heading into the final straight... where will he finish?
He goes fastest by just over two tenths ahead of Leclerc.
07:06 PM
Q1 - Norris moves into second
Perez into fourth, Magnussen fifth. Russell is just starting his first lap and is three tenths up after one sector. The track getting drier and drier, obviously.
Leclerc improves to go even faster, a 1:18.723s.
07:04 PM
Q1 - Leclerc goes fastest
He sets a 1:19.191s, four-tenths ahead of Lance Stroll.
07:03 PM
Q1 - 16 mins remain
Sainz says it's pretty dry. I don't think we're too far away from slicks if there is no further rain...
07:02 PM
Q1 - Leclerc asks when rain is expected
He is told in 10 minutes' time.
07:00 PM
GREEN LIGHT: Q1 begins
A line of 10 or 12 cars at the edge of the pit lane, headed by the two Haas cars.
07:00 PM
Risk of rain for the session...
...is 60 per cent. Looks like the drivers lining up at the pit lane exit are on intermediates.
06:57 PM
Predictions?
Yeah, sorry... I think whatever the weather, Verstappen comes out on top today.
06:52 PM
Just under 10 minutes to go
There is a bit of rain in the air, it seems, but nothing significant. Should dry out pretty quickly assuming no further rain.
06:40 PM
Can Mick Schumacher secure his Haas seat for 2022?
Realistically, the second seat at Haas is the only one available. American Logan Sargeant (who will take part in FP2) will take the vacant seat at Williams alongside Alexander Albon, though that is dependent on him getting the required FIA superlicence points. It's not been a terrible season from young Mick... but there are still a few question marks.
Anyway, here is how the grid for 2023 is looking:
Alfa Romeo: Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas
AlphaTauri: Yuki Tsunoda, Nyck de Vries
Alpine: Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon
Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz
Haas: Kevin Magnussen, TBC
McLaren: Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
Mercedes: George Russell, Lewis Hamilton
Red Bull: Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez
Williams: Alexander Albon, Logan Sargeant*
*Sargeant needs to finish sixth in the 2022 F2 standings to gain enough superlicence points to race in F1.
06:28 PM
And another weather update
Changing conditions are probably better than static ones, wet or dry. Still, it has pretty much stopped raining now with just over 30 minutes until Q1 is due to start.
1820GMT: Rain now clearing, allowing some drying time ahead of qualifying starting. Track temp currently 27.5C.
— Ian Fergusson (@fergieweather) November 11, 2022
06:24 PM
Rain is great and everything...
But what it really does is increase the chance of Verstappen getting pole... he is superb in wet conditions. Remember Brazil 2016? A superb recovery drive in the rain which gave him his seventh podium of the season.
06:15 PM
Weather update
The rain appears to have worsened... it is now a bit more than drizzle as it was earlier. The visibility is pretty poor around the track, which is at altitude. Looks like the wind has picked up too. Still 45 minutes until the session begins, so hopefully we get conditions in which the cars can run...
We have some rain... 🌧️
Qualifying is coming your way in 30 minutes 👀#BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/0MQtA3necI— Formula 1 (@F1) November 11, 2022
06:12 PM
Also, a reminder of the points for the sprint race
As well as setting the grid, championship points are available for the top eight places.
8pts
7pts
6pts
5pts
4pts
3pts
2pts
1pt
The pole position "winner" however, will be the driver who sets the fastest time today, not who starts on pole on Sunday (as it was with the sprints last year).
06:10 PM
George Russell speaks about Mercedes' aims in the final two rounds
Our performance in Mexico was a little bit stronger than our base performance. Our fight at the moment is with Ferrari, to try and finish ahead of them. We're closing the gap and that's all we can continue to do.
06:05 PM
A reminder of the format for this weekend
We've just had an hour-long FP1 session. Things now move to qualifying, which sets the grid for tomorrow's 24-lap sprint, with an hour of FP2 beforehand. The finishing order for the sprint sets the grid for Sunday's grand prix.
So much for that hour of practice being useful in any way. Umbrellas out. The rain does not appear to be torrential by any means but it looks like a start on intermediates at least.
05:51 PM
Here comes the rain
Turns out my prediction about the weather was wrong...
Here it comes... 🌧☔️#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/vPphyaql0r
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 11, 2022
You have to hope that it doesn't affect the session too much. Well, in the way of stoppages and so on.
05:49 PM
FP1 recap - Perez leads Leclerc
Red Bull's Sergio Perez was fastest in first practice for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Mexican set a time of 1:11.853, just 0.004sec ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Perez's team-mate Max Verstappen was a further 0.004sec off Leclerc, with the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz 0.186sec off the fastest time.
Sainz, however, will take a five-place grid penalty for using another Internal Combustion Engine outside of his allocation.
Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Mercedes, just ahead of team-mate George Russell.
04:45 PM
A bit of a chance of rain later on...
But I am not sure it will arrive in time for qualifying in just over two hours' time.
I'll be back in a little over an hours' time with the build-up to qualifying, which begins at 7pm GMT.
04:41 PM
Well, that was pretty much what we expected, I guess?
I think there is a bit more to come from Red Bull. Verstappen was pretty unhappy with his front end throughout the session and Sergio Perez's best time came just half-way into the session. I reckon there is another two or three tenths in there. Still, it can be a difficult place to string a lap together. Mercedes not a million miles away, but I wouldn't get too excited about that...
04:36 PM
Carlos Sainz will take a five-place grid penalty this weekend
He has a new Internal Combustion Engine outside of his allocation. That grid penalty applies to the grand prix on Sunday, rather than tomorrow's sprint race.
04:34 PM
FP1 - Classification
PER 1:11.853
LEC +0.004
VER +0.008
SAI +0.186
HAM +0.187
RUS +0.202
VET +0.304
MSC +0.461
BOT +0.613
GAS +0.614
ALO +0.701
ALB +0.780
OCO +0.852
STR +0.906
NOR +1.102
MAG +1.144
LAT +1.166
ZHO +1.262
TSU +1.494
RIC +1.506
04:33 PM
FP1 ends - Sergio Perez fastest
Not much between him and Leclerc and then his team-mate. All within a hundredth of a second of each other.
04:31 PM
FP1 - Into the closing stages
Sebastian Vettel finishes a quick lap seventh 0.304s off leader Perez.
And that will be the end of the session.
04:30 PM
FP1 - Sainz into third
Slower than Leclerc by nearly a couple of tenths, but just 0.001s faster than Hamilton in fifth behind him.
04:29 PM
FP1 - Leclerc into second
Splitting the Red Bulls and 0.004s off Perez.
McLaren, meanwhile, are not running on the softs and find themselves down in 15th and 20th. Strange? A little bit as the soft tyre will be critical in qualifying...
04:27 PM
FP1 - Hamilton is going again
It's better this time, without a lock up. He slots into third, 0.187s slower than Perez and faster by a smidgen than his team-mate Russell. He appeared to get a tow in the final sector but was perhaps hampered by the same traffic in the middle sector.
Let's see what Ferrari can do now.
04:25 PM
FP1 - Ferrari's time to shine
Both Sainz and Leclerc are out on the soft tyres, fresh ones.
04:23 PM
FP1 - Hamilton on his hot lap on the soft tyres
He sets his fastest first sector time but then locks up in the middle sector at the top of the hill... big lock up that will have cost him bags of time. He stays 17th.
Meanwhile, Russell improves his time to go third 0.202s off Perez but not sure it's an especially brilliant lap.
04:19 PM
FP1 - Russell into fourth
His lap time is 0.336s off Perez's best time. It came with a lock-up, possibly caused by some bouncing under braking or heading into the braking zone.
04:17 PM
FP1 - Mick Schumacher into fourth with his latest run
0.461s off Perez's time. Russell out now on the soft tyres. Let's see what he can do. He will surely move up, but how far?
He's 0.048s Perez after two sectors...
04:16 PM
FP1 - 15 mins remain
Mercedes watch: Hamilton is in 17th, 1.9s off Perez and Russell is 15th, 1.7s off. I do not think they are running a comparable program to their rivals. Hamilton complains of his rear "floating around... with no grip", the opposite problem to Verstappen, then.
Lance Stroll sends in a robotic-sounding radio message that "something is wrong with the car... nope... this is not good. This is a problem." He comes into the pits.
04:12 PM
FP1 - Bottas completes another lap on the softs
But he stays fifth with a time nearly nine tenths off leader Perez.
04:10 PM
FP1 - Top 10 after 40 minutes
PER 1:11.853
VER +0.008
SAI +0.251
LEC +0.496
BOT +0.847
ALO +0.910
ALB +1.115
GAS +1.118
ZHO +1.262
MAG +1.323
04:09 PM
FP1 - Leclerc going for a quick lap on the mediums
Verstappen is out again on the soft tyres. Albon has got himself into the top 10 with a lap on the soft tyres - he is now sixth, 1.1s off Perez's fastest time.
04:07 PM
FP1 - Soft tyre runs under way
Well, soft and medium. Magnussen has a big lock up in the middle sector and will have certainly have flatspotted his front-right tyre.
Verstappen still struggling with corner entry turn-in.
04:03 PM
FP1 - Nothing too encouraging from Mercedes so far
Albeit we do not know fuel loads. Russell is ninth and Hamilton is in sixth.
"It still doesn't turn, it's just waiting for the front," Verstappen says about his previous lap.
04:01 PM
FP1 - Verstappen now on the soft tyres and a fast lap
Fastest sector in the first second and he is 0.059s up on Perez after two sectors...
What does he finish up with? Second place, 0.008s slower than his team-mate. Leaning too hard on the tyres early in the lap?
04:00 PM
FP1 - Perez pops up into first
His time of 1:11.853 was done on the soft tyres and is 1.323s faster than current second-placed man Kevin Magnussen.
Runs on the soft and medium tyres now taking place. Reminder that there will be an hour of practice before the sprint race tomorrow.
03:56 PM
FP1 - Top 10 after 25 mins
VER 1.13.575
BOT +0.232
PER +0.397
HAM +0.417
SAI +0.495
LEC +0.514
RUS +0.557
OCO +0.586
ZHO +1.092
ALO +1.284
03:55 PM
FP1 - Leclerc not happy with traffic now
He got stuck behind a meandering Lance Stroll. "What the hell is he doing... Stroll?" the Monegasque driver says. Not sure who was on an in or out lap there but he wandered all over the racing line.
03:54 PM
FP1 - 37 mins remain
Everyone in the pits but Latifi now.
Verstappen still leads Bottas, Perez, Hamilton, Sainz and Leclerc. All within around half a second.
03:49 PM
Watch: Sainz and Norris's close call
Things getting a little close for CarLando 👀 pic.twitter.com/ziNpY8eTr3
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 11, 2022
03:48 PM
FP1 - Sainz not happy
Super dangerous from the McLaren there. I got a reprimand for something worse than that, I mean a lot less than that...
03:47 PM
FP1 - Some fairly close calls out there
It's quite a busy track, with all 20 drivers out on a circuit that is not the longest and is quite twisty, without all that many straights. Even the start/finish straight is not really straight.
03:45 PM
FP1 - Top 10 as it stands
VER 1:13.646
BOT +0.161
PER +0.326
SAI +0.424
OCO +0.515
ZHO +1.021
LEC +1.021
RUS +1.121
ALO +1.213
GAS +1.308
03:43 PM
FP1 - 49 mins remain
Verstappen has taken top spot again, going 0.161s faster than Bottas, also on the hard tyres.
03:40 PM
FP1 - Bottas goes fastest
Three purple sectors for the Alfa Romeo driver on the medium tyres, to go nearly three tenths faster than Verstappen, who set his lap time on the hards.
03:37 PM
FP1 - Verstappen begins another hot lap
Or does he... he backs off on the second straight. Every driver has now down at least two laps. So, yes, it's busy.
03:36 PM
FP1 - Verstappen currently leads the way
The Dutchman, though, runs very wide at turn four and five after he set the fastest time of 1:14.104. He currently leads Valtteri Bottas.
03:34 PM
FP1 - 57 mins remain
Some great (I think, new) camera angles this year, especially at turn four.
03:33 PM
A fair few drivers out early on
That includes Verstappen, Perez. Well, almost everyone really but Albon.
03:31 PM
Green light: FP1 is go
One crucial hour for the drivers' to get their eye in before qualifying later this evening.
03:17 PM
Lewis Hamilton accepts honorary Brazilian citizenship
He has had a fairly strong relationship with the country in recent years...
03:11 PM
Current constructor standings
03:07 PM
Verstappen has his say on sprint race weekends
Max Verstappen says sprint races are boring, adding the format needs mixing up because “no one is prepared to take any risks”.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix – the third and final sprint race of this season – Red Bull’s double world champion said he was not much looking forward to the move to six sprint races next year.
I am not sure they fully do what they were supposed to. Yes, it's better than having another hour of meaningless practice (I think most will agree), but is six too many? Three or four in a 24-race season feels about right. Six - a quarter of the year - feels like too much.
I do wonder what the better way to use them would be, though? Grids in reverse championship order? Maybe.
03:01 PM
Current driver standings - Top 10
02:58 PM
Lando Norris returns to fitness
The McLaren driver was absent from media duties yesterday due to illness but will return for practice and qualifying today. McLaren would have drafted in Nyck de Vries were Norris unavailable.
02:09 PM
Good afternoon F1 fans
Well, here we are. The 21st race of the 2022 Formula One season – and just two more to go. It has been far from a classic season, especially with compared to what we had in 2021. But that is F1 and it cannot be excellent all of the time. Unfortunately, the championship was clearly heading Max Verstappen's way for most of the season. The only real hiccups were a difficult start with two DNFs in the first four rounds. Since then it has been plain sailing, but will it be the way this weekend for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos? – or the Brazilian Grand Prix as you might know it.
The chances are, yes, probably. There was little resistance from anyone at the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago... and in the United States Grand Prix the week before his opposition flattered to deceive. Lewis Hamilton gave it a good shot both times but the Red Bull was simply too fast in Verstappen's hands.
Still, there is some chances (hopefully) of a bit of disruption as it is the third of three sprint race weekends this season. That means, if you are not aware, we have one hour of practice on Friday, followed by the traditional three-part, one-hour elimination qualifying session which sets the grid for Saturday's 24-lap sprint race. The finishing order for that then sets the grid for Sunday's grand prix.
I would not hold out too much hope for things being too mixed up, but you never know. It at least offers a greater chance of it than a normal qualifying session. One hour of practice and then straight into qualifying does add some likelihood of unpredictability but, in truth, Verstappen is a driver who normally gets up to speed pretty quickly, so it probably favours him more than any other driver.
He has won the last three races and eight of the last nine, but Mercedes have been getting closer. And this track was the scene of one of Hamilton's greatest victories last year. If he could win this year, it might go into that list.
Practice begins at 3.30pm GMT and lasts an hour. There is then a two-and-a-half hour break before qualifying starts at 7pm. We will be here for all of the build-up, live updates and reaction from it all.