Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris swapped places at the top of the times in the second practice session.
The Mercedes driver, who narrowly missed out on the top time in the first hour of running, was a quarter of a second quicker than anyone at the end of second practice.
Max Verstappen was third-quickest again, followed by George Russell. With Oscar Piastri’s McLaren in fifth place, the four drivers closest to Antonelli were covered by less than a tenth of a second after their qualifying simulations on soft tyres.
Thick cloud settled over the Interlagos session ahead of the second session. Slight drizzle fell before the hour of running ended but not enough to prevent drivers completing the session on slick tyres.
Neither Ferrari driver figured in the top five. Lewis Hamilton was almost half a second behind in sixth place while Charles Leclerc, back in his car after Dino Beganovic’s run in first practice, was seven-tenths adrift.
Another strong run for Gabriel Bortoleto saw him end Friday’s running in eighth place, displacing Isack Hadjar. But Nico Hulkenberg did not run at all after the problem which brought his car to a stop while Freddie Slater drove it earlier in the day.
Oliver Bearman put his Haas inside the top 10. His new team mate Rafael Camara ended the session in 16th place, half a second behind the other VF-26.
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2026 Brazilian Grand Prix second practice result
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