Three-way fight at 8mm during the first tests at the Brazilian GP

In the first free practice session of the Brazilian GP, ​​Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes set the stage for an exciting duel in qualifying tonight (11/11, 21:00) for the 21st Formula 1 race of the year at the Interlago circuit .

We remind you that in these three days the Brazilian Grand Prix will host the third and final sprint race of the year, which means that tonight’s qualifying tests will take place at the circuit in the suburbs of São Paulo. This meant teams had to ‘squeeze’ data collection from the three tire types into the first free tests.

Perez and Verstappen in the two Red Bull RB18s posted their fastest laps on the soft rubber after about half an hour of the hour-long session, while Leclerc and Sainz in the two Ferrari F1-75s and Hamilton and George Russell in the two Mercedes W13s finished . With that, the latter two took advantage of the slight advantage of the rubber’s better grip on the Interlagos tarmac.

Additionally, Max Verstappen could find some more speed from the RB18 by today’s qualifying session if he can fix his car’s grip and understeer issues. The champion complained throughout the test that his car “it’s not spinning, still waiting for the front one, the problem is everywhere except turns 6-7, honestly it’s not spinning”.

However, in the first 25 minutes of the procedure, the Dutchman stayed on top with his first shot on the hard rubber. At this point Ferrari and Mercedes were a second behind, but soon Hamilton was 4th (+0.4 inches behind) on the medium tire and Saints, Leclerc were another tenth further down, also on the same tire.

Until Perez scored first on the soft rubber for Interlagos in the 26th minute. His first time out he was 1.7 seconds quicker than Verstappen and he would remain at the top of the standings until the end of testing. A few minutes later Max – on his first attempt on the soft tire – followed the Mexican just 8 millimeters behind him.

The Ferraris, meanwhile, continued with the medium tire. Leclerc stayed with her about half a second ahead of the two Red Bulls but Sainz put in an excellent lap to close Perez-Verstappen within 0.25s.

In the 40th minute, a second attempt by Verstappen on the soft tire didn’t improve his time thanks to the RB18’s ongoing understeer problems. A few minutes later it was Mercedes’ turn to come out on the soft tyre: Hamilton with a block aborted his first fast lap while Russell closed within 0.2 inches of the Red Bulls.

In the last 10 minutes both Ferrari drivers entered the battle of the soft rubber and Leclerc got between the two Red Bulls – four millimeters behind Perez and ahead of Verstappen – while Saint lost some time and just one millimeter in 4th place fell behind ahead of Hamilton’s second – and this time flawless – fast lap on the softs.

It’s worth noting that both Mercedes brought new rear wings to these tests, but – at least in Hamilton’s case – the team and the Brit seemed concerned about the grip of the W13’s rear. Lewis lost a lot of time in the fast corners, especially in the third part of the track.

Shortly before the start of free practice, it was announced that Carlos Sainz would receive a 5-place penalty for changing his hot V6 turbo engine at the start of Sunday’s race. The Spaniard also acquired the upgraded version of the engine to gather data on its development in view of 2023.

Behind the six protagonists, the times of Aston Martin with Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher with Haas were impressive. The two Germans are diametrically opposed: the former exiting F1 in style, the latter desperately trying to carve out his place in the sport for 2023.