SAO PAULO (AP) — Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc went 1-2 for Ferrari in the lone Formula One practice session ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend.
Sainz paced the field at Interlagos with a lap at 1 minute, 11.732 seconds Friday, with Leclerc 0.108 seconds behind. George Russell of Mercedes was third fastest and and Nico Hulkenberg was third in a surprise session for Haas.
Three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen spent a long portion of the session working with Red Bull on adjustments to his car and was only 16th fastest. Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was 18th in another sub-par showing for the embattled driver.
Verstappen has won a record 16 of 19 races so far this season, including four in a row. That includes the first two stops in a monthslong tour of the Americas. Verstappen won the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, two weeks ago, then last Sunday at Mexico City.
F1 wraps up three consecutive weeks of racing this Sunday in Sao Paulo and has a one-week break before the eagerly awaited Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen closed his third consecutive title early last month and Red Bull has already won the manufacturer championship.
It’s made the status of Perez, who has woefully underperformed this season in clearly dominant Red Bull equipment, the hottest topic in the sport. He’s under contract at Red Bull, but the team also has Daniel Ricciardo under contract and Perez left Mexico City with reports swirling he’d be replaced next year by Fernando Alonso.
Alonso was displeased with the chatter when he got to Brazil and said it was disruptive to his Aston Martin team.
“Paddock rumors are normal, but people out there just try to make fun of it and gain some followers and these kinds of things,” Alonso said. “But I am not into that game. I am not enjoying the rumors.”
Perez is clinging to second in the F1 standings and trying to hold off Lewis Hamilton, who cut the deficit from 39 points to 20 with three races remaining when Perez crashed out of his home race last Sunday in Mexico.
Alonso in Friday practice said the track was dirty and “not in Formula One standards.” The veteran driver had the 11th quickest lap of practice. Stewards worked to clean some of the turns as soon as practice was over.
Practice was ahead of afternoon qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race. The sprint race determines the starting positions on Sunday.
Formula One also announced Friday it has extended Interlagos’ contract until 2030.
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