The Mercedes drivers led the first practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix but lap times were ten seconds off the dry pace in a rain-hit session.
Nico Rosberg set the quickest time early in the session using intermediate tyres on a damp track. Team mate Lewis Hamilton was almost half a second off him pace.
The track never got dry enough for slicks to be a serious option but Red Bull made a point of doing back-to-back runs on the current hard tyres and prototype 2014 compounds on Sebastian Vettel’s car to collect aero data when the track conditions improved.
He returned to the track later in the session to set a 1’25.387 which put him third behind the two Mercedes.
The conditions caught out many drivers including the three quickest runners. Rosberg went wide at turn one, Hamilton briefly spun to a stop at turn three and Vettel explored the run-off at Juncao, all without incurring damage.
Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso completed the top five. Daniil Kvyat was a strong eighth for Toro Rosso in his second appearance for the team, taking over from Daniel Ricciardo for this session only.
Heikki Kovalainen was nine-quickest as he began his second weekend for Lotus, four tenths of a second quicker than Romain Grosjean. His team mate was frustrated by being held up by Giedo van der Garde during the session when the Caterham driver abruptly slowed with a gearbox problem. He managed to bring his car back into the pits from where he was able to continue his running.
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Image ?é?® Daimler/Hoch Zwei
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd November 2013, 13:42
Looks like ROS will continue to have the edge over HAM . I don’t know what happened after Hungary . Or maybe Lewis held back more than Rosberg . @ f1 fanatic guys , Daniil Kvyat needs a profile soon I guess ;-)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
22nd November 2013, 13:44
@hamilfan He already has one, it was mentioned in the round-up a few weeks ago.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd November 2013, 14:09
@keithcollantine The name wasn’t hyper linked in the standings. Now it’s fixed. Thank you .
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
22nd November 2013, 13:59
Well, after Hungary Hamilton said, that he can win all the remaining races and he did… oh wait!
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd November 2013, 14:37
@osvaldas31 Can you give me a link , I’m curious where he said the exact words .
petebaldwin (@petebaldwin)
22nd November 2013, 15:59
I assume this is the article: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/jul/29/lewis-hamilton-mercedes-f1
Neil
22nd November 2013, 16:01
He didn’t… he said something along the lines of, ‘To win the championship we’ll have to win all the remaining races. We’ll certainly give it a try.’
Didn’t sound at all confident, though.
W (@yesyesyesandyesagain)
22nd November 2013, 15:14
Mercedes had the momentum after Hungary and were completely out engineered by Red Bull. Embarrassing stuff and likely indicative of how they’ll perform next year. Even if they do get a good engine and aero setup to begin the year they likely won’t be able to keep pace with Red Bull throughout the rest of the season.
petebaldwin (@petebaldwin)
22nd November 2013, 16:13
I suppose it’s slightly embarassing for them but not more than it is for Lotus, Ferrari and McLaren. All teams have struggled to compete with Red Bull this year.
Having said that, most teams focussed more on 2014 than 2013 whereas Red Bull were still developing to win the title. In addition to that, the stats since Pirelli changed the tyres tell their own story:
Steel Belted Tyres
Red Bull: 8 starts, 3 wins (37.5%)
Mercedes: 8 starts, 2 wins (25%)
Ferrari: 8 starts, 2 wins (25%)
Lotus: 8 starts, 1 win (12.5%)
Kevlar Belted Tyre
Red Bull: 10 starts, 9 wins (90%)
Mercedes: 10 starts, 1 wins (10%)
Ferrari: 8 starts, 0 wins (0%)
Lotus: 8 starts, 0 win (0%)
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd November 2013, 16:28
@yesyesyesandyesagain
RBR never ceases to amaze in the area of in-season development . Right from 2009 I think . Even 2012 , It would have been tilted towards Alonso but for those massive updates in Singapore.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
22nd November 2013, 22:46
@yesyesyesandyesagain
That’s because Mercedes gave up on developing their car during the summer break, so they could focus on 2014.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd November 2013, 14:16
It didn’t look like Rosberg had any edge on Hamilton a week ago though @hamilfan!
MahavirShah (@mahavirshah)
22nd November 2013, 14:08
Impressive run by Daniil, although I couldn’t see what the conditions were like, but nonetheless, impressive!
HK (@me4me)
22nd November 2013, 15:13
I wasn’t able to watch the session. But that time seems quite impressive by Kvyat. I would love this race to be a wet race with a lot of people fighting for the win. I like how Vettel breaks record after record because im a fan of his, but it’s getting boring. Let hope for total chaos on sunday :)
Baron (@baron)
22nd November 2013, 15:18
Hey Akshay: Unwritten rule is: once you have got into a hole – stop digging. “I feel I can win 10 races” is exactly that, “I can win 10 races” That’s what the poster said he said and that’s what Hamilton actually said. Operative word “CAN” meaning “I am able to.”
I know it hurts bud, but we’re here for you :)
petebaldwin (@petebaldwin)
22nd November 2013, 15:58
Well… if we’re going to be really picky, the only quote I can find is as follows:
“Last year I didn’t feel like I had the car to win 10 races,” Hamilton said. “This year I feel I have a car that can win 10 races. The tyres are going to play a massive part of that but I truly believe in this car. It feels awesome.
His quote came after a result in which Mercedes was the best car and no-one could get near him. Sadly, following this race Red Bull made a bit of a breakthrough with their car and have blown away the oppostion consistently at every race.
Whatever it’s down to, no-one has been anywhere near Red Bull this year following Hungary.
Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
22nd November 2013, 18:52
I makes you wonder that if the tyres had not have been changed, would we have sent a closer battle? The Hungary win was totally dominant.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd November 2013, 16:25
@baron
Well no doubt he said something along the lines of what the car was capable of . I think the more I think of it the more I believe that Red Bull were not perfect that weekend . A lot of guys said that Seb had shorter shifts which reduced top speed and made him reach the limiter and could not overtake due to straightline advantage. For the majority of the race , Vettel was stuck behind JB . So yeah , I think Lewis spoke too soon . Regarding that previous comment . I just didn’t like the way you said it mate that’s all. He didn’t say anything to suggest that he can win all races but just something to the effect of saying he can challenge on a more consistent basis.I hope no offense was taken as none was meant :-)
Old Lightnin (@lightnin-hopkins)
23rd November 2013, 1:06
As far as Rosberg having an edge on Hamilton goes – the standing tell a different story. I believe they are great team mates and bring the best out of each other. Yes hamilton has scored more points for the team which is the reason they are currently in p2 in the constructors, but Rosberg just a good for the most part. However until Rosberg finishes ahead of Hamilton in the championship he is not the no.1 driver. But I don’t think its really fair to say LH is no1 driver either. All should be equal going into next season and hopefully the best man wins. But Great job by mercedes picking two drivers who work very well together. Shrewd move there. I mean P2 in the constructors is an amazing job for them considering where they have been for the last 3 years or so.