Newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli wasted little time reminding the Formula 1 paddock why he is now the man to beat, topping Friday's second practice session for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
At Interlagos, the Mercedes youngster delivered a 1m10.763s lap to edge a tightly packed field, with the top five covered by less than three tenths of a second as the 2026 campaign enters its closing stages.
Overcast skies and cooler temperatures greeted the drivers, with occasional drops of rain threatening but never developing into anything significant.
São Paulo Grand Prix - Free Practice 2 Results
The conditions nevertheless complicated tyre preparation, with Lewis Hamilton reporting that he was struggling to generate sufficient temperature.
"I can't get the tyre temperatures up," the Ferrari driver complained, while several competitors struggled with front-left lock-ups approaching the heavily cambered Turn 1.
Antonelli, meanwhile, battled considerable bottoming over Interlagos' notoriously bumpy surface but initially led the way on hard tyres with a 1m11.8s effort.
The competitive picture changed once the soft compounds appeared. George Russell briefly moved to the top with a 1m11.016s lap, only for Norris and Verstappen to dislodge the Mercedes driver.
Antonelli then produced the session's benchmark, dipping below the 1m11s barrier to establish a quarter-second advantage.
McLaren and Red Bull close behind
Norris secured second in McLaren's upgraded MCL40, featuring a revised front wing, with a 1m11.016s effort. Verstappen was just 0.006s further back, although the Red Bull driver provided some entertainment over the radio with complaints about his car's clutch.
Russell and Oscar Piastri completed the top five, both within a tenth of Norris, while Ferrari endured an unusually subdued Friday.
Hamilton finished sixth, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who was frustrated after being impeded on the straight by Haas debutant Rafael Camara.
Home favourite Gabriel Bortoleto delighted the Brazilian crowd with eighth for Audi, followed by Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman.
Camara finished 16th, half a second behind his Haas teammate, after completing his first full day as a Grand Prix driver following Esteban Ocon's departure.
Audi's Nico Hulkenberg, meanwhile, remained confined to the garage after technical problems continued to disrupt the team's running.
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