Antonelli Sets Pace in Second Brazil Practice as Bortoleto Places Eighth

Kimi Antonelli recorded the fastest lap of the second free practice session for the 2026 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, according to ge. The Mercedes driver's time of 1:10.763 held up through nearly the entire session at the Autódromo de Interlagos in São Paulo on Friday afternoon.

Lando Norris, who had led the opening practice earlier in the day, took second place. Max Verstappen was third, just six thousandths of a second behind the British driver.

Among the Brazilian drivers, Gabriel Bortoleto matched his eighth-place finish from the morning session. Rookie Rafael Câmara improved to 16th.

Why it matters

Antonelli's dominance across both sessions suggests Mercedes has found a strong setup at a circuit where track position and confidence matter enormously. With the world champion leading the way, the rest of the field faces a clear benchmark heading into Saturday's qualifying.

For Bortoleto, a second consecutive top-eight result in front of his home crowd represents a steady start to the weekend, though the gap to the front will be the number that matters when qualifying sets the grid. Câmara's climb from his earlier position shows the rookie is finding his footing at a track that punishes hesitation.

How Antonelli built his advantage

The Mercedes driver set his first representative time on hard tyres, a 1:11.824, before switching compounds. On softs he found more than a second, lowering the mark to 1:10.763 and locking in the top spot. From that point he was not seriously challenged, per ge's account of the session.

Norris ended the day 0.253 seconds adrift of Antonelli, reversing the order from the first practice. Verstappen's third-place margin of six thousandths to Norris underlines how tight the pursuit is behind the leader.

Bortoleto's best lap of 1:11.780 on soft tyres came early. He sat fourth in the opening quarter of an hour before sliding down the order as others improved. The Audi driver described the car's balance as comfortable across both sessions.

"I think it was the right direction for our car, I felt very comfortable with the balance today, both in practice 1 and practice 2," Bortoleto said, according to ge. "It's about continuing to evolve. We know that here in F1 there is no moment when you can stop improving your car or your driving, so tomorrow we have a long day ahead, but it was very positive."

A difficult day for Hulkenberg and Audi

Nico Hulkenberg was the only driver on the grid not to take part in either session. The German had been replaced by rookie Freddie Slater in the first practice, but the car suffered problems. Slater stopped on track, triggering an eight-minute red flag, and did not complete the session.

With the car still being repaired, Hulkenberg also missed the second practice. The lost track time leaves him at a significant disadvantage heading into the rest of the weekend, particularly with only one more practice session before qualifying.

What to watch

The third and final free practice is scheduled for Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Brasília time, broadcast on sportv 3. Qualifying follows at 3 p.m. on TV Globo, sportv 3 and ge. The race itself takes place Sunday from 1:30 p.m. on TV Globo, with sportv 3 and ge also carrying coverage.