Formula 1 once again returns to the iconic Interlagos track in down town Sao Paulo for this weekend’s decisive Brazilian Grand Prix, with Nico Rosberg able to seal the drivers title here if he wins the race here. As he has done the last the last two visits to the track.
However, it was his Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton who made a dream start to the weekend as he topped the time sheets in Free Practice 1. Hamilton set the pace with a 1:11.895, worryingly though his time was less than a tenth of a second faster than 2nd place Max Verstappen in his Red Bull, with Rosberg having to settle for the third fastest time of the session. He’ll be hoping this is not a sign that the Red Bulls could be ruining his title aspirations here. Verstappen did benefit from a tow from McLaren’s Fernando Alonso in sector three, but being three tenths quicker than team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in 4th underlined how impressive the Dutchman’s lap was, despite the advantage the Mercedes power unit has on the long drag up the hill in the final sector.
Behind the top four the battle for 5th was tight between Force India and Williams, with just two tenths of a second covering the four drivers. It was the Williams of Valtteri Bottas who finished the session in 5th ahead of Sergio Perez in 6th, Nico Hulkenberg in 7th, and Felipe Massa in 8th who is making his final appearance at him home Grand Prix. The result means the fight for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship looks to be a lot feistier this weekend. Especially as Williams are not known for showing their pace in Friday sessions.
But if it looks like a good weekend for Williams and Force India the weekend didn’t get off to the dream start for Ferrari, who looked off the pace and finished the session a disappointing 9th and 10th with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, respectively. Vettel even managed to spin the car in the closing stages, suggesting the Ferrari may not be as strong round here as other circuits. The only saving grace for Ferrari is they failed to run the faster soft tyre in this session, so they may find some more performance when they put that on.
Elsewhere GP3 championship leader and Ferrari young driver Charles Leclerc made his first F1 appearance since Hockenheim in July for Haas in place of the departing Esteban Gutierrez. Leclerc was eight tenths off of the more experienced Romain Grosjean, and finished the session 21st. He wasn’t the only junior driver in the session, as GP2 drier Sergey Sirotkin was testing for the Renault team, replacing the Haas bound Kevin Magnussen for the session. He unfortunately suffered a fuel pressure issue in his Renault and finished the session in last place.
If Rosberg was hoping for a change in fortune for Free Practice Two he was to be left sorely disappointed, as once again it was team mate Hamilton who finished on top of the session, with another quick time of 1:12.271. If Rosberg can take solace in one fact, he was officially 2nd in the session, just three hundredths of a second behind his team mate. As well as that, it looks like it may even be a straight fight between the two title rivals after the long runs in the second session, As the 3rd quickest driver, Bottas in his Williams, was almost half a second behind the scrapping due.
Massa was 4th in what was another great session for Williams, showing the possibility of a good points haul for the team this weekend. Something they could do with in their fight with Force India. Meanwhile the Red Bull drivers lined up behind the Williams pair, this time however Ricciardo was the faster Red Bull in 5th, with Verstappen having to settle for 6th.
Once again Ferrari looked off the pace during the session, finishing only as the fourth best team, with Vettel 7th and Raikkonen in 8th. Raikkonen lost running in the session due to a brake problem when a visor tear-off became lodged in a cooling duct. Before this however, he had been involved in an incident on track with the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz, when the Ferrari passed the Toro Rosso around the outside of the penultimate turn, before chopping across the front of the Spaniard to enter the pits. The incident was placed under investigation, however the stewards decided no further action was warranted.
Hulkenberg was 9th for the Force India team, while Jenson Button gave McLaren something to be cheerful about with a top 10 finish in the session. That was about the only thing McLaren could smile at today though. Button was stranded in the garage as the team investigated a gearbox sensor problem. They did get him out, only for his session to end early after an exhaust problem.
Meanwhile, it was Button’s team mate Fernando Alonso who stole the show in FP2. After last season where he famously decided to top up his tan in a deck chair by the track, spawning the hashtag #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe, Alonso was back at it again today after water pressure failure on the ERS system forced him to park up early. Alonso didn’t disappoint, and after a bit of football with a pebble trackside, he did find himself a new job operating the remote camera on the outside of the corner of turn tree. Once again leading to another iconic Alonso moment.
With the weather forecast unsettled to say the least for the remainder of the weekend, the two clean sessions of running may prove pivotal in establishing setups this weekend. And on a weekend where there is everything to play for and everything to lose, teams will need to bring their a-game to Qualifying and the race on Sunday.
Free Practice One Results.
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:11.895
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:11.991
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:12.125
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:12.371
5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:13.129
6. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:13.289
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:13.293
8. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:13.318
9. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:13.567
10. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:13.569
11. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:13.711
12. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:14.090
13. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:14.252
14. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:14.296
15. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:14.507
16. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:14.631
17. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:14.654
18. Esteban Ocon, Manor, 1:14.827
19. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:14.908
20. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:14.948
21. Charles Leclerc, Haas, 1:15.391
22. Sergey Sirotkin, Renault, 1:15.800
Free Practice Two Results.
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:12.271
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:12.301
3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:12.761
4. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:12.789
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:12.828
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:12.928
7. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:13.002
8. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:13.002
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:13.299
10. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:13.440
11. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:13.572
12. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:13.689
13. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:13.801
14. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:13.918
15. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:14.074
16. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:14.109
17. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:14.309
18. Esteban Ocon, Manor, 1:14.317
19. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:14.436
20. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:14.558
21. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:14.695
22. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:14.958
Feature Image Credit: Williams Martini Racing Press Release
