FP1: Norris leads Antonelli and Verstappen in opening Sao Paulo GP practice session

Lando Norris finished fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the McLaren driver beating Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen to top spot.

Norris posted a 1m 11.717s at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Friday in Brazil, leaving last year's race winner 0.082s clear of new World Champion Antonelli, with Verstappen just over two tenths back.

Six regular drivers were watching trackside for the opening one-hour session as their cars were driven by rookie drivers, including the likes of Leonardo Fornaroli (in Oscar Piastri's McLaren), Freddie Slater (driving Nico Hulkenberg's Audi) and Colton Herta.

The session was imperative for Herta, with the American driving Sergio Perez's Cadillac and needing to gain one more Super Licence point if the former IndyCar winner is to stand any chance of joining the grid for 2027.

Another rookie to join the field was Rafael Camara, the Brazilian making his Formula 1 debut this weekend in front of his home fans having been promoted early to a race seat at Haas.

Camara, who is joining Haas full-time next season, headed out immediately once the light at the end of the pit lane turned green at 1600 local time, as did a flurry of other drivers for crucial running on a dry track and before any rain materialised.

Drivers soon began exploring the limits, as Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Lewis Hamilton and Herta all locked up and ran wide at Turn 1 inside the first 10 minutes.

Shortly after a red flag was shown with Slater coming to a stop out on track, this year's F3 runner-up having had his running already curtailed last weekend in Mexico due to reliability problems.

Approaching the 20-minute mark, Antonelli moved to the top of the times with a 1m 12.789s on Pirelli's medium tyre, before lowering the benchmark fractionally to a 1m 12.777s.

Verstappen became the first driver to bolt on a set of softs just before the halfway point, the Dutchman pumping in a 1m 11.953s but stating the downshifts on his car were "unacceptable" over the radio.

Antonelli's first attempt with the soft tyre came to an end at Turn 1 after the Mercedes driver locked up and ran wide, before having another effort which proved more fruitful with a 1m 11.799s.

Team mate George Russell, who will serve a five-place grid penalty for an internal combustion engine change, was three tenths adrift and back in fourth, behind Hamilton's Ferrari.

Norris then moved to the top of the leaderboard, setting a 1m 11.717s just as Albon's session came to an end with 20 minutes remaining, the Williams driver pulling off the circuit with a loss of power steering.

Norris' time remained unbeaten until the chequered flag as drivers and teams focused on long simulations, with the top six completed by Antonelli, Verstappen, who complained his steering was getting harder to turn, Hamilton, Russell and the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar.

Rookie Gabriele Mini, at the wheel of Pierre Gasly's Alpine, was an impressive seventh ahead of home hero Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), the second Alpine of Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls.

Fornaroli was P11 from Ollie Bearman's Haas, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac).

Albon finished P16 from Williams team mate Luke Browning (in for Carlos Sainz), Camara, Stroll and Herta.

Dino Beganovic, at the wheel of Charles Leclerc's Ferrari, had his running disrupted by issues which meant the floor of the car was removed for a period of time, while the order was completed by Slater.