The first São Paulo Grand Prix since Kimi Antonelli's world title was settled in Mexico takes place this weekend. Qualifying is on Saturday at 18:00 UTC and the race on Sunday at 17:00 UTC, and both ESPN and Sky Sports forecast thunderstorms for Saturday's qualifying and rain on Sunday.
Session times: local and UTC
ESPN and Sky Sports both list the schedule in GMT, and their times match. Brazil is UTC-3, so local time is three hours earlier. Both schedules show three practice sessions, qualifying and the race.
| Session | UTC | Brasília |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri 6 Nov 15:30-16:30 | Fri 6 Nov 12:30-13:30 |
| Practice 2 | Fri 6 Nov 19:00-20:00 | Fri 6 Nov 16:00-17:00 |
| Practice 3 | Sat 7 Nov 14:30-15:30 | Sat 7 Nov 11:30-12:30 |
| Qualifying | Sat 7 Nov 18:00-19:00 | Sat 7 Nov 15:00-16:00 |
| Race | Sun 8 Nov 17:00 | Sun 8 Nov 14:00 |
RaceFans, however, lists the same sessions three hours later in London time (race 8pm, qualifying 10pm). The UK is on GMT in early November, so both tables cannot be right. This piece follows the times on which ESPN and Sky Sports agree; check the official timetable as well.
Weather: storms Saturday, rain Sunday
ESPN said Friday practice should be cloudy, Saturday brings thundery showers with highs of 27C, and Sunday light showers with temperatures dropping to 19C. It gave no rain probabilities. Sky Sports said São Paulo is renowned for unpredictable weather, with thunderstorms forecast for qualifying and a chance of rain on Sunday. Both are early outlooks and may change as the weekend approaches.
What is at stake: the constructors' title
The drivers' title is decided, but the constructors' is not. ESPN and Sky Sports both report that Mercedes can clinch it if they outscore Ferrari by three points or more on Sunday. ESPN noted that Max Verstappen won in Mexico City with Lewis Hamilton second and Antonelli third. Interlagos is 71 laps of 4.3km, and ESPN lists the lap record as Valtteri Bottas's 1:10.540 from 2018. Sky Sports points to the long run from Junção (Turn 12) to the Senna S chicane (Turn 1) as a good overtaking spot.
