Max Verstappen parked the RB22 before FP2 was done at the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix, and his head of race strategy has spent the hours since explaining why it was not quite the problem it looked.
The Dutchman was unhappy with a heavy steering feel and brought up the downshift gremlins that have nagged his car on and off this season. Rather than keep running, he came in to let the engineers get started.
Red Bull are framing that as useful information, not a lost session. Hannah Schmitz told reporters at Interlagos that the team now has a clear list and a plan.
New wheel, new settings for Saturday
A fresh steering wheel has been promised for the rest of the weekend, with further changes on Verstappen’s side of the garage.
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“There are a number of things that he was unhappy with, but we know what they all are, and they’re all things that we can work on and improve,” Schmitz told Formula1.com in Red Bull’s Friday debrief.
The timing sheets did not paint a bleak picture. Verstappen was third in both sessions on Friday, 0.236 seconds behind Lando Norris in FP1 as McLaren rolled out a new front wing, rear wing, beam wing and floor package, then 0.259 seconds adrift of Kimi Antonelli when the Mercedes driver set the pace in FP2 with a 1:10.763.
Schmitz sees room to close that gap, telling Formula1.com the gains are there to find: “I think there is a lot of performance to gain, and obviously, in terms of lap times, we’re still pretty competitive up there with everybody else.”
Antonelli the man to beat in Brazil
Antonelli arrives at Interlagos already crowned. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver clinched the 2026 championship with third place in Mexico City on 1 November, becoming the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history and the first Italian title winner since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
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Mercedes can seal the constructors’ championship here if they outscore Ferrari by three points over the weekend.
Verstappen sits second in the drivers’ standings on 261 points, 119 behind Antonelli after winning in Mexico City. Interlagos has long been one of his happy hunting grounds: he has three wins at the São Paulo track, in 2019, 2023 and the 2024 race he climbed through from 17th on a wet grid.
Qualifying at Autódromo José Carlos Pace starts at 3pm local time on Saturday, with the Grand Prix scheduled for 2pm local time on Sunday.
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