Verstappen ends Sao Paulo practice early as Red Bull stays confident

Max Verstappen finished third fastest in both Friday practice sessions in Sao Paulo, but he called time on FP2 about six minutes early after the team decided the remaining running would add little value. Red Bull's head of race strategy, Hannah Schmitz, said longer runs had shown inconsistencies and the data being gathered was no longer useful, so the focus moved to changes for overnight work on the RB22.

Verstappen also reported familiar complaints about downshifting in his first session and a power-steering problem late on. Isack Hadjar was ninth in FP2. Schmitz said both drivers had identified areas to change, which she viewed as a positive, and described plenty of potential within the car ahead of the weekend.

The team ran all three tyre compounds on Friday, and Schmitz said choosing which compound to run in each session was a close call, with teams testing all three because they are so similar. Brazil's changeable weather could still make Friday's picture less useful for Sunday's race.