Max Verstappen set the pace during Saturday morning’s final practice session for the Formula One Sao Paulo Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit, clocking a lap time of one minute 11.622 seconds.
The Red Bull driver finished 0.025 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who had secured the top spot in Friday’s second practice session. Verstappen heads into the weekend facing a back-of-the-grid start for Sunday’s main race after taking a penalty for an engine change.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will also incur grid penalties for taking new internal combustion engines. Lando Norris of McLaren, who topped the timesheets in the opening practice, finished Saturday’s session third quickest, ending 0.131 seconds off Verstappen’s pace.
Mercedes driver George Russell placed fourth and will serve a five-place grid penalty due to an engine change of his own. Leclerc managed the fifth-fastest time, while his teammate Hamilton finished down in 12th position following an apparent technical failure.
Hamilton reported “strange” engine vibrations and smoke in the cockpit over the radio before bringing his car to a halt. Further down the order, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll completed only seven laps due to a suspected energy recovery system issue, leaving him at the bottom of the timesheets.
Rafael Camara made his season debut for Haas after replacing Esteban Ocon, finishing the session in 15th place ahead of teammate Oliver Bearman. Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto placed tenth quickest in front of his home crowd.
Qualifying is scheduled for later on Saturday at the Interlagos circuit, with rain anticipated by meteorologists though it has yet to reach the track.
