SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 06: Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy driving the (12) Mercedes AMG

Can Mercedes keep their rivals at bay in Sao Paulo?

Staff WriterAnna Francis

Less than one week on from winning his maiden World Championship, Kimi Antonelli ended Friday in P1 on the timesheets – but with incredibly fine margins between the top four teams, can Mercedes stay ahead as the Sao Paulo weekend progresses?

How good was Mercedes’ performance on Friday?

It did absolutely seem to be a strong first day on track for the newly-crowned champion, with Antonelli narrowly missing out on setting the pace in Free Practice 1 – having placed just 0.082s behind Lando Norris at the top – before going fastest of all later on in second practice.