Kevin Magnussen missed the first practice session due to nausea, and was replaced by Oliver Bearman. In the only practice session before qualifying for the sprint race, Red Bull performed poorly, while McLaren was strong.
However, the other drivers also faced a tough challenge as the Interlagos circuit was thoroughly resurfaced. The news had barely begun when Max Verstappen was officially penalised for Sunday's race, with a five-place grid penalty. During practice, Max Verstappen and the two Mercedes dominated for a long time, before the remaining time saw some testing on soft tyres, with Lando Norris taking the lead at the last minute ahead of George Russell and Oliver Bearman.