Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas topped the times in the second free practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos.
Hamilton's time of 1:09.515s was some three tenths slower than the track record pace he had set in the morning. A brief light rain shower prevented any significant improvements in the final minutes of the session.
The top two were two tenths faster than Daniel Ricciardo in third for Red Bull, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel next best ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen.
Brazilian Grand Prix - Free Practice 2 results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:09.515s | 42 | |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:09.563s | + 0.048s | 45 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:09.743s | + 0.228s | 37 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:09.875s | + 0.360s | 48 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:09.886s | + 0.371s | 38 |
| 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:10.117s | + 0.602s | 45 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:10.306s | + 0.791s | 49 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:10.373s | + 0.858s | 42 |
| 9 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:10.396s | + 0.881s | 39 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:10.655s | + 1.140s | 31 |
| 11 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1:10.685s | + 1.170s | 42 |
| 12 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:10.695s | + 1.180s | 43 |
| 13 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:10.902s | + 1.387s | 38 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:11.064s | + 1.549s | 44 |
| 15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:11.300s | + 1.785s | 39 |
| 16 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:11.422s | + 1.907s | 44 |
| 17 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 1:11.821s | + 2.306s | 54 |
| 18 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1:11.857s | + 2.342s | 43 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:11.989s | + 2.474s | 17 |
| 20 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Haas | 1:12.417s | + 2.902s | 37 |
Despite forecast threats of rain, conditions for the start of second practice remained dry and bright, with track temperatures up to 49C. However, despite plenty of blue skies, the clouds were also building up as Haas' Romain Grosjean was the first to head out on track.
In an unusual move, the team had opted to deploy their development driver Antonio Giovinazzi in the afternoon rather than the usual FP1 appearance. He joined Grosjean in getting straight to work, sitting in for regular driver Kevin Magnussen for the 90-minute session.
Also quick to get to work was Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley, following an engine issue before lunch had cost him almost all of his morning running. Team mate Pierre Gasly soon emerged from the garage to head out as well.
Everyone started their session on soft compound tyres. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel swiftly took control of the timesheets with a first lap of 1:10.993s on the soft compound tyres. He and his team mate Kimi Raikkonen traded the top spot back and forth.
Eventually their cosy arrangement was broken up first by Red Bull's Max Verstappen and then Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas. After 20 minutes, Lewis Hamilton deposed his team mate from the top of the timesheets with a time of 1:09.792s. He quickly chiselled another tenth of a second with his next effort.
After half an hour, drivers started to switch to the supersoft tyres. That enabled Bottas to find some more time to go in front, Hamilton soon responding with a lap of 1:09.515s.
That proved decisive, as teams started turning their attention from flying lap to long distance runs. Hopes for any final qualifying runs were thwarted when a large black cloud materialised overhead and light rain was briefly reported on pit lane.
Earlier, Marcus Ericsson had compromised his session when he ran wide into the fast downhill left-hander at turn 11. He skimmed along the barrier with some force. Although his Sauber was clearly damaged, he was able to get underway and return to the pits for the engineers to start lengthy checks and repairs.
Other drivers had also been finding the limits of what they could do at Interlagos. Even Hamilton and Bottas both had minor run-offs and lock-ups early in the session.
Midway through the session, Stoffel Vandoorne spun in the McLaren going through turn 2. Ten minutes later Grosjean had a spin of his own at the end of the back straight. In both cases no harm was done and the drivers were quickly back underway.
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