Lewis Hamilton has asserted his authority during the two practice sessions in his last Grand Prix for McLaren in Brazil today.
Hamilton will leave McLaren for Mercedes next year but is looking to end his six year stint with the team on a high, outclassing the Red Bull Racing pair of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
The Hamilton, Vettel and Webber trio ended both sessions on top, with the improving Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso setting the fourth and fifth fastest times in Practice 2.
Michael Schumacher, competing in his final Grand Prix before his second retirement, was sixth fastest in the second session, ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, with Jenson Button, Romain Grosjean and Paul di Resta rounding out the top 10.
Vettel and Alonso remain the only two drivers with a chance of winning this year’s F1 crown. Vettel sits 13 points ahead of Alonso and, if Alonso wins, Vettel needs to finish third place or better to wrap up the title.
Practice 1
Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
1 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:14.131 | 33 | |
2 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:14.140 | 0.009 | 35 |
3 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:14.198 | 0.067 | 34 |
4 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:14.217 | 0.086 | 31 |
5 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:14.392 | 0.261 | 28 |
6 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:14.716 | 0.585 | 29 |
7 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:14.719 | 0.588 | 33 |
8 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:14.738 | 0.607 | 34 |
9 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:15.015 | 0.884 | 37 |
10 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:15.050 | 0.919 | 32 |
11 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:15.114 | 0.983 | 36 |
12 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:15.255 | 1.124 | 31 |
13 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:15.396 | 1.265 | 32 |
14 | 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1:15.413 | 1.282 | 23 |
15 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:15.587 | 1.456 | 35 |
16 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:15.701 | 1.570 | 16 |
17 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:16.048 | 1.917 | 35 |
18 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:16.315 | 2.184 | 36 |
19 | 20 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 1:16.460 | 2.329 | 32 |
20 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:16.506 | 2.375 | 31 |
21 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:16.617 | 2.486 | 30 |
22 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:17.234 | 3.103 | 26 |
23 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:17.678 | 3.547 | 15 |
24 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:17.895 | 3.764 | 13 |
Practice 2
Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
1 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:14.026 | 35 | |
2 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:14.300 | 0.274 | 40 |
3 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:14.523 | 0.497 | 37 |
4 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:14.553 | 0.527 | 37 |
5 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:14.592 | 0.566 | 37 |
6 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:14.654 | 0.628 | 36 |
7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:14.669 | 0.643 | 40 |
8 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:14.863 | 0.837 | 40 |
9 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:14.994 | 0.968 | 37 |
10 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:15.129 | 1.103 | 39 |
11 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:15.131 | 1.105 | 40 |
12 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:15.371 | 1.345 | 39 |
13 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:15.432 | 1.406 | 45 |
14 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:15.542 | 1.516 | 35 |
15 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:15.839 | 1.813 | 43 |
16 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:15.902 | 1.876 | 39 |
17 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:15.953 | 1.927 | 47 |
18 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:16.048 | 2.022 | 40 |
19 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:16.126 | 2.100 | 39 |
20 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:16.655 | 2.629 | 42 |
21 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:17.244 | 3.218 | 15 |
22 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:17.675 | 3.649 | 42 |
23 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:18.127 | 4.101 | 31 |
24 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:18.139 | 4.113 | 15 |
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