Ferrari laid down a marker in second practice as Sebastian Vettel led a 1-2 to conclude Friday practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
After a wet morning, a dry track greeted the teams allowing teams to get into some serious running with the forecast set fair for the rest of the weekend.
Only five minutes in, however, Robert Kubica touched the still damp kerb exiting Turn 2 and lost control, spinning into the barrier causing a red flag.
Just before the Pole’s off, Valtteri Bottas had set the initial pace with a 1m10.8s in the Mercedes, but when the session resumed, Max Verstappen and then Lewis Hamilton went faster, with the Briton dipping into the 1m09’s.
It was Ferrari who would set the pace, however, as Sebastian Vettel led Charles Leclerc by a quarter of a second and Hamilton a further tenth back.
As the qualifying runs got underway, Hamilton and Vettel both found their routes blocked by Bottas on their first low-fuel run as Leclerc went fastest in the Ferrari.
The Monegasque’s teammate would regroup for a second flier though and went just 0.021s faster with a 1m09.217s to lead a Scuderia 1-2.
Verstappen avoided the traffic issues due to niggly front wing and DRS issues, but produced the fastest middle sector in the Red Bull to find a tenth back in third.
After frustrating his rivals, Bottas claimed fourth, three-tenths clear of Hamilton as Mercedes were left reeling a little.
Kevin Magnussen was the surprise midfield leader in sixth for Haas, as the single-lap performance of the VF-19 again showed some promise.
Daniel Ricciardo was seventh for Renault on a circuit which should better suit their car. Kimi Raikkonen sat in eighth as Alfa Romeo also showed some improvement with Alex Albon, after his crash at the of Practice 1, down in ninth in the second Red Bull.
A steady session saw Carlos Sainz only 10th for McLaren but, as you’d expect for a 70-second lap, the gaps were tiny as half a second separated Magnussen in P6 to Lando Norris in P18.
Another close call involving Bottas as the race simulations began but this time it was the Finn who was the victim as Ferrari released Leclerc into the fast-lane forcing Valtteri to hit the brakes.
Moments later, more drama on the track as Pierre Gasly’s Honda engine gives up in the Toro Rosso causing a Virtual Safety Car to be called.
There was little to choose between the top three teams on pace regardless of tyre compound although Hamilton did appear to show a slight advantage.
Much like the morning, however, the second practice came to an abrupt halt as this time Daniil Kvyat in the second Toro Rosso, repeated Albon’s off at Juncao from FP1.
The difference this time though was an apparent technical issue which proceeded the Russian sliding down the grassy hill into the barrier.
So Interlagos once again delivering the kind of drama it has become renowned for, but at the end of it all, it is Ferrari appearing to have the edge heading into the weekend.
Full result from second practice can be seen below:
