Ferrari faces a difficult challenge at the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix after Friday’s practice sessions exposed significant weaknesses in both qualifying performance and race pace. While Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc struggled to find a competitive balance in the SF-26, newly crowned world champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli established a commanding advantage for Mercedes in the most important sector of Interlagos.
The Italian driver began the São Paulo weekend in a manner befitting his recently secured Formula 1 title. Mercedes appears increasingly comfortable with its upgraded W17, and Antonelli’s performance through the demanding middle sector demonstrated the car’s strengths in mechanical grip, rotation and tyre management. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris look capable of challenging the Mercedes driver, but Ferrari faces extensive setup work after a disappointing opening day.
Antonelli dominates Interlagos’ crucial middle sector as Mercedes improves
The advantage enjoyed by Andrea Kimi Antonelli was substantial. The Mercedes driver finished more than two and a half tenths ahead of Lando Norris, his closest challenger, but the most revealing comparison came from the sector times.
In Interlagos’ second sector, which is particularly important for tyre management, Antonelli gained almost two tenths over Norris and approximately three tenths over Max Verstappen. The Italian’s Mercedes performed well through the fast uphill corners, although its greatest advantage emerged in the twisting central section of the circuit.
Here, the W17 demonstrated excellent mechanical grip and an ability to rotate effectively through the slower corners. This characteristic allowed Antonelli to carry competitive speed through the technical section without excessively stressing the tyres.
The car’s strong balance also helped control tyre temperatures. By the time Antonelli reached the final corner, his tyres still had sufficient performance available to generate good traction on the uphill acceleration towards the start-finish straight.
The only notable weakness appeared in the opening sector, where the Italian was less effective under braking for the Senna S. However, part of that deficit resulted from a different electrical energy deployment strategy, with Mercedes conserving energy for the latter portion of the lap.
After a less convincing showing in Mexico, Antonelli now appears to have re-established himself as Mercedes’ reference driver. With the pressure of the world championship battle behind him, the Italian can approach the remaining races with greater freedom. Interlagos also features several flowing corners that suit his ability to brake while simultaneously steering, an area in which he can make a significant difference.
Mercedes has continued improving its understanding of the upgrade package introduced in Malaysia. Following adjustments to its setup approach, the Brackley team has brought the W17 back into a more favourable balance window, allowing its development work to deliver stronger results.
McLaren’s upgrades deliver strong performance as Red Bull challenges Mercedes
McLaren also enjoyed an encouraging Friday at Interlagos, demonstrating competitive performance in both practice sessions. Lando Norris found a fast lap relatively easily, representing an improvement compared with recent weekends, when both the Briton and Oscar Piastri had struggled to drive the MCL40 consistently and cleanly.
The Woking team’s progress may have benefited from its latest aerodynamic developments. These include changes to the wings, beam wing and floor, while a new diffuser had also been tested during the United States Grand Prix at Austin.
One particularly interesting development is McLaren’s new front wing, which offers an early indication of its approach towards 2027. With this design, the team has adopted an active aerodynamic configuration similar to the arrangement Mercedes used at the beginning of the season before subsequently abandoning it.
Red Bull is another team hoping to fight at the front in Brazil. Max Verstappen finished just six thousandths of a second behind Norris and was actually more effective than the McLaren driver through the middle sector, although he remained some distance behind Antonelli.
The RB22 struggled most noticeably through the fast corners and along the straight in the third sector. Red Bull could recover some performance by modifying its energy management strategy, while further improvements to the car’s balance could allow Verstappen to challenge Antonelli more seriously.
Ferrari SF-26 struggles with setup problems in Brazilian GP practice
Ferrari’s situation is considerably less encouraging. After emerging from the Mexican Grand Prix weekend as the strongest team, the Scuderia has encountered significant difficulties at Interlagos, with Lewis Hamilton more than four tenths behind the leading Mercedes.
The problems were not limited to the lap times. Inside the Ferrari garage, the team made extensive adjustments to the car’s mechanical setup, including changes to ride heights and suspension stiffness. The scale of these interventions highlighted the need for substantial corrections to the initial configuration.
These difficulties are particularly important at Interlagos, where the car must combine stability through the faster sections with effective rotation and mechanical grip in the slower corners. Mercedes has demonstrated precisely these characteristics, while Ferrari has struggled to establish a sufficiently competitive balance.
The Italian team therefore faces an intense period of analysis and preparation to identify a more effective setup. Without significant improvements, it will be difficult for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to fight for the leading positions.
The challenges facing the SF-26 can also be considered alongside the earlier Ferrari SF-26 technical analysis for the Brazilian Grand Prix, which examines the characteristics of Interlagos and the potential implications for the Maranello car.
Brazilian GP race simulations reveal another Mercedes advantage
Qualifying performance was only part of Friday’s story. During both practice sessions, the teams devoted considerable time to long-run simulations, gathering information about tyre degradation and race pace ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The lap times generally increased as the stints progressed, indicating substantial tyre degradation. This makes sustained race pace particularly important, potentially even more significant than outright single-lap performance.
Two-stop strategies cannot be ruled out, which is one reason the teams experimented with all three available dry-weather compounds during Friday’s running.
The following table presents the lap times recorded during the selected race simulations. Each driver’s tyre compound is shown alongside the corresponding sequence of laps.
| Lap | Antonelli (Soft) | Russell (Soft) | Leclerc (Soft) | Verstappen (Medium) | Hamilton (Medium) | Norris (Hard) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:14.7 | 1:14.9 | 1:15.5 | 1:14.9 | 1:15.9 | 1:15.2 |
| 2 | 1:14.8 | 1:14.5 | 1:15.2 | 1:15.1 | 1:17.2 | 1:15.1 |
| 3 | 1:14.7 | 1:17.0 | 1:15.4 | 1:15.3 | 1:16.2 | 1:15.1 |
| 4 | 1:15.2 | 1:14.9 | 1:15.8 | 1:15.7 | 1:15.9 | 1:15.5 |
| 5 | 1:15.0 | 1:15.4 | 1:16.2 | 1:15.7 | 1:16.0 | 1:15.4 |
| 6 | 1:15.2 | 1:15.5 | 1:17.7 | 1:15.6 | 1:16.1 | 1:15.6 |
| 7 | High | 1:15.5 | — | 1:15.7 | 1:16.1 | 1:16.1 |
| 8 | 1:15.2 | 1:16.0 | — | 1:15.9 | 1:16.7 | 1:16.1 |
| 9 | 1:15.4 | 1:15.8 | — | 1:16.0 | — | — |
| 10 | 1:15.4 | 1:16.1 | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | 1:15.9 | 1:16.3 | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | High | 1:16.0 | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | 1:15.4 | 1:15.9 | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | 1:16.4 | 1:15.8 | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | 1:16.8 | 1:16.3 | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | High | High | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | 1:15.6 | 1:15.9 | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | 1:15.5 | — | — | — | — | — |
Ferrari also struggled over longer distances. Charles Leclerc, running on Soft tyres, and Lewis Hamilton, using Mediums, were slower than their direct rivals on comparable compounds.
Antonelli, by contrast, was in outstanding form during the race simulations. The Mercedes driver recorded the fastest overall lap times despite using the Soft compound, which is theoretically more vulnerable to degradation than the Medium tyres fitted to Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Lando Norris took a different approach by testing the Hard tyres, reinforcing McLaren’s preference for the more durable compounds. His competitive lap times on the hardest available rubber further highlighted the team’s encouraging performance.
These differences underline why tyre behaviour could play such an important role in the race. Further comparisons of practice-session lap times and longer stints are available through the F1 practice and long-run analysis.
Weather could change the competitive picture at Interlagos
The teams now face an important period of work, with Friday’s data requiring detailed analysis before the cars return to the circuit. Ferrari, in particular, must identify the setup adjustments needed to address its difficulties, while its rivals will also look for further improvements.
One of the biggest uncertainties is the weather. There is a reasonable possibility of rain during qualifying, which could significantly influence the competitive order and require teams to adapt their preparations.
Even if conditions remain dry, changing temperatures will represent another variable. Track evolution must also be considered, particularly in the sections of Interlagos that have been resurfaced.
The prospect of changing weather adds another dimension to the tyre-management challenges already evident during Friday’s long runs. The remaining sessions and their start times are available in the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend schedule.
For Andrea Kimi Antonelli, victory remains some way off despite his impressive start to the weekend. Nevertheless, the newly crowned world champion has already demonstrated the speed, confidence and technical strengths that make Mercedes the early benchmark in Brazil.
Ferrari faces the opposite challenge. Unless the Scuderia can find a more effective setup and improve its long-run performance, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc may struggle to compete with the leading cars at Interlagos.
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