Lawson Solid in Brazil as Antonelli Dominates
Liam Lawson kept his weekend on the rails in Brazil, banking two clean practice sessions and a solid platform for qualifying, while newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli reminded everyone why the title is already his.
On a circuit where Lawson has twice turned laps into points, the Kiwi flirted with trouble only once, locking the front wheels into turn one. He gathered it up, stayed out of the barriers, and carried on with his programme – exactly what Racing Bulls needed in a tight constructors’ fight.
Antonelli, free of championship pressure, went hunting for outright pace and found it. His best lap, a 1m 10.763s, put him 0.253s clear of Lando Norris in the McLaren and 1.279s ahead of Lawson. It was the sort of lap that drains the colour from the timing screens: purple sectors, clear daylight to the field, and a reminder that the champion is not easing off.
Inside the Racing Bulls garage, the comparison that mattered most to Lawson sat just across the aisle. Arvid Lindblad, making his first race appearance in Brazil, shaded Lawson by 0.034s. A slender gap, but in a midfield this tight, it is the kind of margin that can dictate strategy calls on Sunday.
Lawson did, however, land an important blow in his personal battle with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. He finished 0.067s ahead of the Frenchman, a small but significant edge as the two teams scrap for ninth in the constructors’ standings. Every position, every point, carries budget and momentum into next year.
Qualifying, which starts at 7am Sunday (NZT), will decide how much of today’s promise translates into real opportunity.
Rookies step up in FP1
The day had started with a different storyline. FP1 turned into a showcase for the next wave of talent, as six rookies climbed into the cars under Formula One’s young driver regulations.
Lawson’s own opening session set a steady tone. His 1m 12.715s was good enough for 10th, 0.998s off Norris, who topped the times. The Kiwi looked set to improve late on, stringing together a stronger lap, only for yellow flags to force him to abort. The lap vanished, the potential didn’t.
Among the newcomers, Alpine’s Gabriele Mini stole the spotlight. He pushed his way to seventh, just 0.852s off Norris’ benchmark and, crucially, 0.085s ahead of teammate Franco Colapinto in ninth. For a first outing, it was a statement – not just that he could handle the car, but that he could handle the pressure of an internal yardstick.
Rafael Camara’s debut carried a different kind of weight. Thrown into Haas after Esteban Ocon’s abrupt exit in Mexico, the Brazilian finally turned his first official laps in front of a home crowd. He finished 18th, nearly two seconds off the pace, but for a rookie tossed in mid-season, the priority was mileage, not headlines.
The session never quite found a rhythm. All 22 drivers lost valuable running when Audi’s Freddie Slater ground to a halt before the halfway mark, bringing out a red flag and slicing into long-run plans. When the track went green again, teams had to compress programmes, juggle tyre usage, and accept that some questions would roll over into FP2.
By the end of the day, the picture was clear enough. Antonelli sits on top, Norris looks ready to pounce, and Lawson has kept himself firmly in the mix – ahead of Gasly, just behind Lindblad, and very much alive in the constructors’ dogfight.
Tomorrow morning, the stopwatch stops being a rehearsal.
