F1’s Brazillian Grand Prix is here, and with it comes a sprint weekend, a new track surface, the tension between many drivers, and more. With the new track surface bringing the extra heat, can the F1 teams, and their Pirelli tyres, cope with the additional sprint race laps? What about Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ title fight? Or Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez’s on-track repercussions? Jon Noble and Filip Cleeren chat in Interlagos’ lively paddock to find out all they can leading into the Brazil GP weekend.

BMW topped the times in second free practice for this weekend’s World Endurance Championship curtain-closer in Bahrain.

Dries Vanthoor posted the fastest time in Free Practice 2  at the wheel of the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh run by the WRT squad.

He set his session best of 1m48.257s early on in the 90-minute Thursday evening session, like all the leading runners, to end just five hundredths clear of second-placed Matt Campbell in the best of the factory Porsche 963 LMDhs.

The Australian had topped the times with a 1m48.311s in the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry before Vanthoor supplanted him at the head of the order.

It was the second time in two races that the improving BMW LMDh has emerged fastest in a practice session.

Vanthoor was also quickest in FP2 at Fuji in September when he and team-mates Raffaele Marciello and Marco Wittmann went on to secure the best WEC result for the M Hybrid with second place in the race.

Ferrari took third position in FP2 on the Bahrain International Circuit with Antonio Giovinazzi aboard the #51 499P Le Mans Hypercar run by the factory AF Corse team.

The Italian’s 1m48.472s was just two tenths off the pace of the BMW.

Nyck de Vries took fourth position in the best of the Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMHs with a 1m48.647s, while Antonio Fuoco jumped to fifth at the end of the flurry of early-session quick laps in the second of the Ferraris with a 1m48.701s.

Sebastien Buemi rounded out the top six in the #8 Toyota with a 1m48.736s, which was still within half a second of the pace.

Robin Frijns claimed seventh in the second BMW ahead of the best of the customer Jota Porsches with  Oliver Rasmussen at the wheel.

Proton Competition’s privateer 963 was next up in ninth in Neel Jani’s hands, while Ferdinand Habsburg completed the top 10 in the #35 Alpine A424 LMDh.

The solo Ganassi Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh was 11th with Alex Lynn at the wheel, while the championship-leading #6 Porsche was the last car within a second of the pace in 12th with Kevin Estre driving.

Daniil Kvyat took 16th in the Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 LMDh, and the two Peugeot 9X8 2024 LMHs brought up the rear of the Hypercar class order after the French manufacturer had taken FP1 honours.

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

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The LMGT3 class was headed by the #87 Lexus RC F GT3 run by the Auto Sport Promotion team, Esteban Masson leading the way by six tenths on 2m02.246s.

Second place went to Hiroshi Koizumi in the #82 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R with a 2m02.901. Francois Heriau got within a tenth of the Chevy driver to take third.

The final, one-hour practice session begins at 12:00 local time before qualifying for Saturday’s Bahrain 8 Hours kicks off at 16:00.

Bahrain – Free Practice 2

Lando Norris believes that Max Verstappen knows “deep down” that he was in the wrong during the Mexican Grand Prix, and that the three-time Formula 1 champion should know what to change in future.

Verstappen collected two 10-second penalties for a pair of 10th-lap incidents with Norris in Mexico, one for running Norris out of road at Turn 4 and another for leaving the track at Turn 7 and gaining an advantage by passing the McLaren driver.

In the aftermath, Norris reiterated his respect for Verstappen but was dismayed by the championship leader’s approach during the race – having noted that his only job was to stop his rival from outscoring him in races.

Norris said that he still hadn’t spoken to Verstappen about the race, and that it was not up to him to encourage the Dutchman to change his ways.

“We’ve not spoken and I don’t think we need to,” Norris said. “I’ve got nothing to say. 

“I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does – not respect for what he did last weekend, but respect for him as a person, and also what he’s achieved. 

“But it’s not for me to speak to him. I’m not his teacher, I’m not his mentor or anything like that.

“Max knows what he has to do. He knows that he did wrong, deep down he does. And it’s for him to change, not for me.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

He added: “Max is probably one of the most capable drivers on the grid, if not the most. He knows what he can and can’t do and where the limits are. So, he knows the changes he has to make.”

Norris explained that he was not going to change his approach when it came to racing Verstappen, and felt that he was good at keeping his nose clean during contentious moments on track.

He admitted that he might have “paid the price” for lacking aggression in certain scenarios, but that the points from keeping it clean in races have nonetheless added up.

“I think something I’ve done well in my whole career is staying out of trouble and keep the car in one piece. All those little things add up over a championship and over a season, especially in a cost cap season as well,” Norris contended.

“I’ve always had the mentality to want to race fair and clean. I think I probably said it last weekend, I’ve been maybe too kind, whether I was attacking or defending. But I think I’ve always made good decisions from that side. 

“Sometimes I’ve paid the price for not being aggressive enough, but the rest of it is not up to me. Even when you don’t realise it, there are times when you have to avoid a potential crash and maybe you don’t see it on the TV.

“There are more times that people realise that you go through those certain scenarios.  And I think those are some of the challenges we have every now and then. 

“But I’ll come into this weekend with a new expectation of hopefully having clean, fair racing. And I think that’s what we should expect.”

Max Verstappen says he “has the wrong passport” for the Formula 1 paddock amid fierce criticism over his driving tactics in last week’s Mexican Grand Prix.

In Mexico City, Verstappen was handed a double 10-second penalty for two incidents in which he forced McLaren title rival Lando Norris off the track, which caused unease from various colleagues over his aggressive driving style in the title run-in.

Verstappen particularly copped heavy criticism from British pundits, with former F1 world champion and Sky analyst Damon Hill wondering if the three-time champion is even capable of racing fairly.

Meanwhile, Johnny Herbert, who was the FIA driver steward in Mexico, suggested Verstappen drove Norris off on purpose in Turn 7 to ensure Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc would make it past, hindering Norris’ title bid by reducing the number of points left on the table for the Briton.

Verstappen initially shrugged off Hill’s comments in the Brazilian Grand Prix’s FIA press conference, but speaking later on to Dutch-language journalists, he was amused by how he seemed to have the wrong nationality to be treated fairly by the media and the stewards.

“I know what most people are like, it’s nothing new,” he said. “Last year was perfect, so it must have hurt a lot for many people that they couldn’t say anything negative.

“Now they’ve got the chance to say something, so they’re all coming out of the woodwork. At the end of the day, I’ve got the wrong passport for this paddock.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

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Verstappen called Herbert’s theory “a pretty extreme accusation” and insisted he didn’t drive Norris off on purpose in Turn 8.

“I didn’t do anything on purpose. They can’t look inside my head,” he said. “It’s a pretty extreme accusation. We just raced hard.”

While questioning the size of the penalty for his Turn 4 incident with Norris, Verstappen did acknowledge the second 10-second penalty for his Turn 8 manoeuvre was fair. But he didn’t feel there was any reason to do things differently from now on.

“You win some, you lose some,” he said about the outcome of his Turn 8 lunge. “It depends. Every situation is different and in hindsight, it’s always easy to have another look at it.

“It happened, we just have to make sure we have a more competitive car so we don’t end up in that situation again, because that’s where it starts.”

What is also behind Verstappen’s suggestion of bias is his community service penalty for swearing in Baku’s press conference, while Leclerc hasn’t been slapped on the wrists yet for a similar offence in Mexico.

“[Herbert] had big opinions about what I said in the press conference [in Baku], but I didn’t hear him after the press conference in Mexico.

“Actually, what [Leclerc] said is worse than what I said in its context, and it was a much more important press conference with more people watching. But you know, I’m not going to spend time on that. It is what it is.”

Motorsport.com understands the FIA is still considering whether or not Leclerc’s swearing in Mexico’s post-race press conference needs to be investigated further, with a call expected over the Brazilian GP weekend.

George Russell believes the current Mercedes Formula 1 car is the “most inconsistent” the team has ever had, as it continues experiments on its upgrade package in Brazil.

With Russell and Lewis Hamilton having both endured crashes with the latest version of the W15 since the United States Grand Prix, Mercedes is trying to get to the bottom of why there seems to be some quirkiness with its handling.

Both Mercedes drivers are committed to running with the latest floor in Brazil, which features some minor revisions compared to what Hamilton had in Mexico as the team works on improving its stability.

It is understood that there will also be minor differences between the versions that both drivers use in first practice to further help the team get a better understanding of what it needs.

While Mercedes has had some good times with its car this season, winning three out of four races before the summer break, Russell said there remains a lot of confusion over the fact that it does not seem to offer a predictable platform.

“I think in 2022, in the sort of porpoising era, without doubt that was far more unpleasant,” said Russell, reflecting on Mercedes’ progress during the recent ground effect era.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“But because of the nature of those cars, it was far harder to get close to the limit because you’re literally jumping around every single corner, and you knew that it was going to bite you.

“The problem we’ve got with this car at the moment is you think it’s not going to bite you, and you can achieve a really great lap. And then suddenly nothing changes, or you feel nothing changes, and the following lap you lose all of that performance.

“So without a doubt this is probably the most inconsistent our performance has been as a team in probably forever.”

Russell explained that the differences in floors, with the Briton getting his new version back on the car after it was repaired following his Austin qualifying crash, across the two cars were very small.

“We’re both going to be on the updated floor,” he said. “We’ve got a small difference in specification as a bit of a trial, but it’s not an update as such. It’s just in the realms of normal aerodynamical testing.”

Track surface impact

One critical factor to Mercedes’ hopes this weekend will be how much the new Interlagos track surface impacts the heat of the tyres.

Circuit detail

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

The team’s car is known to be very sensitive to track temperatures, and the hotter it gets the worse its performance can be.

With early predictions pointing to the newly-resurfaced dark asphalt being hotter than it was before, Russell thinks it is an element that Mercedes needs to be mindful of.

“The colour of the tarmac has an impact, so the darker the colour, the hotter the temperature,” he said.

“On the flip side, it’s a very smooth surface, so the tyres will be able to probably run hotter and be penalised less because it’s so smooth. That’s the theory.

“But we don’t know if it’s going to be good for us or bad for us. Austin was the best example: Friday qualifying, we’re both fighting for pole. Saturday qualifying, Lewis is out in Q1, I end up in the wall and nothing has changed.”

Formula E organisers have cancelled the upcoming pre-season test in Valencia following torrential flooding in the area which has left at least 158 people dead and will instead hold the event in Jarama.

The all-electric championship was due to hold four days of running for all 11 teams and the new Gen3 Evo machines between 4-7 November at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

But the Valencia region in eastern Spain was hit by a year’s worth of rainfall in the space of just eight hours on Tuesday, causing widespread devastation that has killed well over 100 people with many still missing.

The access roads in and out of the circuit have been completely swept away in the flash flooding, with Formula E organisers announcing on Wednesday that it was inaccessible by vehicle.

Although the Ricardo Tormo Circuit itself was undamaged, problems gaining access to the site as well as the wider logistical problems in the area have meant Formula E has cancelled the test.

Circuit Ricardo Tormo after flooding

Photo by: Paco Alcobendas

“We have all been monitoring the tragic situation in Valencia, where flash floods have devastated the region and claimed many lives,” said a Formula E statement released on Thursday.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by these terrible events and we at Formula E are looking at how we can practically support the region during this awful time.

“Following consultation with local authorities, the FIA and our colleagues at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, we have decided not to proceed with our pre-season test in Valencia, planned for 4-7 November.

“While it may have been possible to go ahead logistically, it is important not to create any distraction or use valuable resources that are much better served supporting the local community.

“We have a number of Formula E team members who have been working on the ground in Valencia over the past week, and we want to personally thank them for everything they’ve done, and continue to do, to support the area.”

The statement went on to add that a new venue in the form of the Circuito del Jarama would host the scheduled event – as well as the all-female test – which will run from 5-8 November.

It added: “The full event schedule will be confirmed in due course, as we navigate a number of logistical and operational challenges which will determine if it’s possible to move our test operations to Madrid within this timeframe.”

The Ricardo Tormo Circuit is currently due to host the conclusion of the 2024 MotoGP season the following week on 15-17 November, with organisers stating on Wednesday that the championship is “committed” to running the race but that its focus is on supporting those in the community.

Ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend, Marc Marquez claimed that “ethically speaking, I don’t think the Valencia Grand Prix should be held”, adding that it should only take place if all the proceeds are given to the families of victims.

Most recently, the 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was cancelled by Formula 1 organisers after flooding in the area that resulted in two deaths.