The entire 2026 F1 grid returns on track for the final practice session ahead of the São Paulo GP. The first outing of the weekend had seen five rookie drivers replacing more experienced ones, as well as the official debut of Rafael Câmara as Formula 1 driver for Haas.
The second practice session had trouble in store for Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg, who couldn’t manage to complete any lap. While the technical issues had already begun earlier in the morning with Slater in the car, Audi didn’t manage to solve them in time for allowing Hülkenberg to complete his first lap in Interlagos of the year. As a consequence, this session will be the first one for the former polesitter at Interlagos.
Just before the beginning of the session, rumours of several of the front runners on the grid taking up engine penalties in the upcoming race spread, focusing on Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc. In particular, Hamilton and Leclerc will sport new ICEs, whereas Verstappen, like his former teammate Pérez, will take up, in addition to the new ICE, several additional components including turbo chargers and exhausts, thus moving the four times World Champion right at the back of the grid.
FP3 of try 2026 F1 São Paulo GP is live!
The German in the Audi was the first to exit under the Interlagos clouds, in order to try and make up for the lost time. Mercedes’ Russell joined him next, who too will serve a starting grid penalty, as well as Antonelli.
However, the F1 championship winner quickly returned to the pits due to a steering wheel issue. Haas’ Câmara has a brief offtrack excursion, coming to grips with his first ever Formula 1 car. Verstappen too opened up on the radio about steering wheel issues, detailing that it was pulling to the right.
Ten minutes into the session, Antonelli set the provisional fastest lap in 1:12.497, leading from Verstappen and Leclerc. However, the Ferrari drivers are improving, with Hamilton slotting into the top 5. Leclerc went fastest in 1:12.439, with his race engineer mentioning a chance of light rain in the upcoming minutes.
Drama entails as lack of grip challenges most of the drivers
Hadjar went long at Turn 1 as he struggled for a good balance. Frenchman was then called back into the pits for a set-up change, so as to try and improve the feeling with his challenger.
Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas only joined the grid on track after twelve minutes, with his team hard at work on his challenger. Verstappen cycled to the front, but it was short lasted as Antonelli returned into the top spot with a 1:12.214.
Hamilton, after the Mexico City issues with Leclerc, mentioned feeling strange vibrations from his power unit. As a consequence, he returned into the pits, allowing for the Italian team to monitor the situation.
With thirty eight minutes left on the clock, just four drivers remained out on track, with Antonelli returning for a set-up change as well. Aston Martin’s Stroll pitted due to a ERS issue, with the Silverstone-based team already experiencing so many reliability issues in Mexico last weekend.
The top ten at the half hour mark included Antonelli, Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Lawson, Piastri, Norris, Hamilton, Hadjar, and Lindblad, with Racing Bulls confirming the positive streak of performances showcased in 2026 thus far.
Antonelli leads a close front pack
Up to this point, no driver has begun completing runs on the soft tyres, with several teams worrying about the potentially incoming rain. Verstappen had a moment before Turn 10 with his former teammate and now Alpine F1 talent Pierre Gasly.
Hamilton returned into the pit lane after reporting smoke in the cockpit on the radio. It turned out there was a problem and his session was done.
Norris becomes only the latest driver to complain about drivability issues on his McLaren car. Replays show Bottas struggling to have a compliant car as the Cadillacs continue to be last.
Two young and talented local heroes will take the track for the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP: Audi’s Bortoleto and Haas’ Câmara.
The top ten remained the same with twenty minutes left on the clock, as the grid is focusing on race simulations and trying to find the best possible grip at Interlagos rather than switching to soft, faster runs.
Red Bull is shown hard at work on Hadjar’s car. Instead, Ferrari is dismantling Hamilton’s car no.44 to solve the mystery of the unexpected fire.
Soft runs in the final quarter of the session
With fifteen minutes left, the first drivers emerge on the faster tyres, starting from the Mercedes and McLaren driver duos, as well as Verstappen and new dad Leclerc. Russell is the first driver to post a lap in the 1:11s, with Piastri slotting in P2 right behind him.
Norris set the fastest first sector to slot into P2, with Antonelli fastest in the second sector taking the provisional lead. Ultimately, Verstappen’s first push lap was the best out of the first set of fast laps, with the Red Bull man posting a strong 1:11.622.
Antonelli had a moment, running over the kerbs and having a strong snap on his W17. Hadjar returned on track with 12 minutes on the clock, looking more in tune with his challenger. However, his timed effort is only good enough for provisional P9, with both Racing Bulls drivers Lindblad and Lawson shucking in ahead of the former F2 runner up.
Final moments
Alpine F1’s first soft run shows disappointing pace, with Gasly and Colapinto slotting in P11 and P13 respectively, right as Câmara dives into the pits for a last minute change.
Nobody improved on their second push lap attempt on the softs, with the top 5 remaining unchanged: Verstappen, Antonelli, Norris, Russell and Leclerc. The lack of performance on the second round compared to the improvements seen yesterday may link to the higher track temperatures.
Audi’s Bortoleto is having a positive running day, sitting in provisional P10, albeit almost half a second away from Hadjar in P9. While his first ever home GP had not allowed him the joy of points due to a late crash and retirement, 2026 might bring him more home smiles.
Pérez was noted for slowing down on track and throwing something out of the cockpit from his Cadillac car.
In the final moments of the session, most of the grid returned on track, with only Hamilton and Stroll unable to take part in the remainder of the session.
The session ended with Verstappen leading from Antonelli and Norris, with Russell and Leclerc rounding off the top 5 as the sky gets darker and darker.
After three dry sessions, will it be time for a wet Qualifying? Tune in later to find out.
