F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Hamilton tops opening practice session in Brazil

Any doubts about Lewis Hamilton letting up after clinching the drivers' title in Mexico were put to rest at the outset in Brazil as the Mercedes driver topped FP1.

Hamilton edged out team mate Valtteri Bottas, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, while achieving a new lap record of Interlagos.

Brazilian Grand Prix - Free Practice 1 results

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:09.202s		36
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:09.329s	+ 0.127s	43
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:09.744s	+ 0.542s	32
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:09.750s	+ 0.548s	31
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:09.828s	+ 0.626s	38
6	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:09.984s	+ 0.782s	32
7	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:10.102s	+ 0.900s	28
8	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:10.402s	+ 1.200s	26
9	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:10.454s	+ 1.252s	36
10	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:10.476s	+ 1.274s	24
11	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:10.632s	+ 1.430s	42
12	George Russell	Force India	1:11.047s	+ 1.845s	29
13	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:11.188s	+ 1.986s	29
14	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:11.463s	+ 2.261s	30
15	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:11.467s	+ 2.265s	32
16	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:11.608s	+ 2.406s	35
17	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:11.802s	+ 2.600s	32
18	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:11.898s	+ 2.696s	28
19	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:14.034s	+ 4.832s	5
20	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso			2

After torrential rain yesterday, free practice kicked off under a sunny sky and a dry track, with little chance of rain, although that could be set to change in the afternoon.

Daniel Ricciardo put himself at the head of the queue in the pitlane, the Red Bull driver being the first to venture out on the green track.

It was team mate Max Verstappen who put himself at the top of the timesheet however, the Dutchman looking to pick up where he left off in Mexico where he won two weeks ago.

The 20-year-old gradually trimmed his time but was displaced at the top by Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, the Finn crushing last year's pole time.

Drama ensued in the Toro Rosso camp when Brendon Hartley parked it with an apparent engine failure - another Renault unit gone up in smoke. The Kiwi was already set for a grid drop after his demise in the Mexican GP.

Meanwhile, his team mate Pierre Gasly was once again deprived of crucial mileage, with power unit issues keeping him stranded in teh garage for the better part of the morning session.

Lewis Hamilton bonds with Viviane Senna

Sebastian Vettel suffered a spin early on, but fortunately with no consequences beyond a set of dirty tyres.

Mercedes was expected to use FP1 to trial a few modifications, perhaps changes destined to be implemented on its 2018 car, but Hamilton and Bottas traded fastest times at the top of the timesheet.

Unsurprisingly, the 2017 world champion set a new lap record, beating Rubens Barrichello's 2014 fastest lap ever at Interlagos.

A highly motivated Felipe Massa put in a good effort to place himself P3 but was quickly bumped back to fourth by Vettel.

Force India rookie Georges Russell, running in his first ever official practice session and replacing Sergio Perez, acquitted himself well, running consistently just outside the top ten as without making any mistakes.

Traffic increased in the final minutes of the session, but while Bottas was the first driver to reach the 40-lap tally, Hamilton ended the session at the top with a record breaking 1:09.202.

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Michael Delaney