Rosberg flies but Friday may be a poor guide to form

The combination of a new track surface, very high temperatures and a spate of red flags left teams with only a limited understanding of how their cars will perform in Sunday’s race.

But with the next two days expected to be much cooler – and likely wet as well – that may not prove much of a hindrance.

The Interlagos circuit has been completely relaid since last year, and while fresh surfaces tend to lack initial grip the smoothness of the new track appears to have made it quicker. All of last year’s practice and qualifying sessions were wet, so a like-for-like comparison can’t be made, but Nico Rosberg lapped faster than the 2012 pole position time.

Rosberg topped both sessions, so he more than anyone has reason to hope the conditions don’t change too much, as he seeks to reduce Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead. There is little to choose between on them on their best sector times, however.

Not everyone feels the resurfacing is a change for the better, however. “The new asphalt changed the character of the circuit quite a lot, which is a shame,” said Jenson Button.

The McLaren driver was one of several runners to lose a significant amount of running, which in his case was due to an ERS failure during first practice. He had other problems to occupy his mind, however.

“What’s also strange is that our maximum speed is quite a way off that of the front-runners,” he said. “Our downforce levels don’t look too dissimilar, but we wouldn’t have been able to match the best top speeds without taking the wing off.”

“There’s a lot of work to do overnight,” he said, “but I think we understand where the issues lie.”

Sergio Perez failed to do any running at all after Daniel Juncadella crashed his car during first practice. “On that lap I went a bit wider on the kerb which was a bit too optimistic because I had a moment and had to catch the car,” explained a chastened Juncadella.

“There was no room in the run-off area so I damaged the front of the car. I’ve apologised to the team and I’m sorry that it caused Sergio to miss track time, but hopefully he can still have a strong weekend.”

But the likes of Perez and Jean-Eric Vergne – who only did half-a-dozen laps – will have lost little if the forecast rain arrives.

Past form suggests Red Bull stand to gain most if it does – and Sebastian Vettel is optimistic that will be the case. “If it’s wet then I think it brings things closer to us,” he said, “but even in the dry if we get everything right we should be in a reasonable place, it’s a short lap so it will be quite tight.”

Longest stint comparison – second practice

This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) during their longest unbroken stint:

Sector times and ultimate lap times – second practice

Speed trap – second practice

Complete practice times

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