Lewis Hamilton 0.367s faster than Max Verstappen in only practice before qualifying - but has grid penalty for Sunday confirmed due to new Mercedes engine; Watch qualifying from Brazil's famous Interlagos track live at 7pm on Sky Sports F1 tonight
Friday 12 November 2021 18:08, UK
Lewis Hamilton took the fastest time in opening practice and a grid penalty for the race on a frenetic start to Friday at the Sao Paulo GP, with Max Verstappen falling behind his title rival before tonight's qualifying.
In the crucial sole practice session before qualifying for the third and final F1 Sprint of the season on Saturday, it wasn't looking positive for Hamilton early on with his new Mercedes engine confirmed - which brings a five-place grid penalty for Sunday's race - and setup issues plaguing his performance.
But while Verstappen and Red Bull looked quick, Hamilton hit back towards the end of the session on the soft tyres and finished three-tenths up on the championship leader with his 1:09.050 at the epic Interlagos.
The two title protagonists - split by 19 points with four races remaining - will go head to head again in qualifying at 7pm tonight, live on Sky Sports F1, which will set the grid for Saturday's 24-lap Sprint.
Hamilton's grid slot will not be affected for that format, though wherever he finishes, he will then line up five places lower than that position for Sunday's showpiece Sao Paulo GP due to his fifth Internal Combustion Engine of 2021.
"I think we started on the wrong foot right at the beginning of the session and the Red Bulls didn't run at the end," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who said the new engine was necessary to preserve their title hopes, told Sky F1.
"But we have more performance to come that we know we have in the pocket. At least it's not as bad as it wasn't at the beginning of the session.
In Practice One, Sergio Perez was quick in the other Red Bull - finishing third and just a tenth behind Verstappen, and a tenth ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes. The roles of Perez and Bottas are likely to be key this weekend.
Pierre Gasly was fifth for AlphaTauri ahead of the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who once again appear to have stolen a march on McLaren. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, perhaps concentrating on long runs, finished down in 15th and 19th.
Both Alpine cars also finished in the top-10 in the first F1 session at Interlagos since 2019.
