Welcome to this Total Motorsport live blog for Free Practice 1 from the F1 2023 Brazilian GP as Formula 1 heads to Interlagos for Round 21 of the 2023 season. Red Bull have already secured the Constructors’ Championship and Max Verstappen also retained Drivers’ Title. Follow all the action from Sao Paulo with us LIVE.
F1 Brazilian GP 2023 LIVE – FP1 latest updates
15:34: FP1 over
Ferraris fastest overall with Sainz leading Leclerc. The Spanish driver set a 1:11.732 on his final run, which was 0.108 faster than Leclerc but importantly just 0.133 faster than Russell, who had the mediums on for that lap and set it way earlier.
That bodes well for Mercedes this weekend.
15:24: Russell fastest with five minutes to go
He’s got a solid benchmark time with that 1:11.865, which is faster than the Haas and Williams cars whilst they’re running soft tyres. He’s 0.271 ahead of Stroll and 0.319 ahead of Gasly on mediums.
15:04: Norris and Hulkenberg crash!
Both cars can carry on but Hulkenberg was going slowly at the Juncao and had a fast-travelling Lando Norris before turning in, seemingly failing to notice he was there.
Both cars carry on running and Hulkenberg pits for a brief check.
Russell still fastest with a 1:11.865 on the mediums.
15:01: Half an hour to go in the ONLY practice session of the weekend
The teams have just this one hour to dial in their set-ups and 50% of that has passed. They’re then stuck with the data they’ve got from this session.
14:59: Russell fastest
Using the medium tyres, the Mercedes sets a 1:11.865 and goes faster than Alonso by 0.75 on the hards. Tsunoda is the only other driver on the mediums at the moment.
14:52: Puncture for Alonso
Fernando Alonso has a rear puncture and has to pit, which could be a costly set of tyres lost for the remainder of the race. When it rains, it pours and at Aston Martin it’s been a monsoon over recent weeks.
14:47: Aston Martin in for set-up changes
15 minutes gone in the session and the Aston Martin boys are the first to change their set-ups as they make alterations to the front suspensions on both cars.
Can they manage to compete at the front end of the grid this weekend?
14:43: Sargeant runs wide
He runs slightly wide at the Descida do Lago as he learns the track limits of the circuit. He didn’t quite go to the same extremes as Verstappen in 2021 when he attempted to defend from Hamilton.
14:42: Mercedes edge slightly closer
Hamilton goes third fastest to sit 0.318 down on Verstappen‘s earlier time, and Russell slots into fourth but is a big 0.606 down on the reigning world champion.
14:37: Verstappen clearly isn’t waiting around
He sets a new fastest time of a 1:13.138, an improvement of almost eight tenths as Perez can only get within 0.393 of that time. He’ll be in Las Vegas by the time the rest take the chequered flag on Sunday at this rate.
14:34: Verstappen fastest
Red Bull have set the early time to beat on the hard tyre as Verstappen goes fastest with a 1:13.950, 0.582 faster than Pierre Gasly in second and over one second faster than Sergio Perez.
14:26: Will it rain this weekend?
That’s one way to spice the qualifying and two races up, right? But will the heavens open around Interlagos?
14:23: Alonso to Red Bull or has someone been spreading lies in the paddock?
Following the Mexico City GP, he was heavily tipped to have signed a contract with the world champions to replace Sergio Perez.
14:13: Just how good will the 2023 Brazilian GP be?
George Russell won a thriller in 2022 and Lewis Hamilton managed to claim victory from 10th in 2021, but can they stop the all-conquering Red Bull machine this year?
Great news this morning as Interlagos is confirmed until 2030!
The historic track will continue to produce classics until 2030 at the very least.
Where can I watch the 2023 Brazilian GP?
For viewers in the UK, every session of the 2023 Brazilian GP will be shown live on Sky Sports F1, with highlights on Channel 4.
Meanwhile, if you are in the USA, every session will be shown across ESPN.
F1 fans in Australia will be able to catch all the action on Fox Sports, while those in Canada can watch on TSN.
