What we learned from Friday's running ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
With three hours of running being completed at Interlagos ahead of Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, there have been a lot of interesting things developing on the track in Sao Paulo, where FP1 was driven in the wet.
Albon is far from a finished product
Ever since his promotion from Toro Rosso to Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, rookie Alex Albon has shown to be very quick in the RB15 next to Max Verstappen, beating the Dutchman in terms of points scoring since he joined the team.
However, the 24-year-old has also shown has also struggled to keep his Red Bull out of the walls as he added yet another shunt to his tally on Friday.
He was mostly blameless for this one, yes, but it is another reminder of how inexperienced the Thai driver is in Formula 1, with today being his first-ever time driving at Interlagos.
Ferrari are rolling again
Ignoring FP1, where all of the fastest times were set on the intermediate compound, Ferrari once again looked the team to beat on Friday after their dip last time out in the United States.
Sebastian Vettel led a one-two for the Italian works team in FP2, and although the gap to Verstappen in third place was just a tenth of a second, the result does debunk the Dutchman's earlier comments where he claimed Ferrari lost pace in Austin because they were no longer cheating.
Saturday morning should give more clarity in terms of how the top three teams are shaping up when it comes to one-lap pace, but as of now, it looks like Ferrari might continue their streak of pole positions.
The Brazilian Grand Prix will be spectacular as always
The Brazilian Grand Prix is known to produce some spectacular Grands Prix, and if Friday is anything to go by, we should get some good entertainment on Sunday in Sao Paulo.
Not only did we see two crashes during running on Friday, but the lap times were very close. The top five cars were within two-tenths of each other, as were the seven quickest cars in midfield.
Spins, close running and a track that lends itself well to overtakes and where rain is always around the corner. All the ingredients are there for Sunday's race at Interlagos to be another classic. Will Verstappen have a chip on his shoulder after last season's dramatic race, where he collided with Esteban Ocon when in the lead?