Hamilton sets the pace in Brazil

Day one of the Brazilian Grand Prix ended with a second ninety-minute practice session held in sunny conditions.

Worked resumed in earnest at Interlagos. Most of the cars quickly came out for a first run. Less than ten minutes in, all twenty-four cars were on track. Button was already on top of the timesheet, ahead of his teammate Hamilton. Alonso – whose Ferrari engine was changed during the lunch break – was third fastest.

As the Red Bulls were getting up to speed, Hamilton took over at the front by a comfortable margin. Button swiftly closed the gap to his teammate while Webber slotted in third and Vettel in fourth place. The World Champion moved up one place as he rounded off his first run of the afternoon.

The first part of the session was largely dedicated to runs on the harder tyre option. Things settled down as drivers worked on their set-up and gathered data. Sauber and Toro Rosso made an early switch to the soft tyres. More teams made the switch as the session hit its midpoint.

Hamilton was still leading from Button, Webber, Vettel and Massa. The hierarchy changed as Mercedes put soft tyres on its cars. Schumacher took first spot while his teammate Rosberg took third.

With 35 minutes remaining, Hamilton retook the lead. Both Vettel and Webber improved their lap times to slot in 2nd and 3rd. They all concluded the session with a race simulation run. Therefore, there were no major improvements and Hamilton’s fastest time remained unbeaten.

The McLaren driver ended the day on top. He was just over a tenth of a second faster than Vettel and Webber. Alonso and Schumacher completed the top five. Button was only seventh quickest, but just 0.395s off his teammate’s pace.