Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel concede their respective teams, Red Bull and Ferrari, could be fighting for third at the Brazilian Grand Prix after Mercedes dominated Practice on Friday.

The two Silver Arrows led both sessions, with Lewis Hamilton just ahead of Valtteri Bottas, and though the gap wasn't too substantial between the top three teams, with less than four-tenths covering P1-P5 in the afternoon, it wasn't the single lap pace that particularly concerned their rivals.

“Mercedes are really quick on high fuel, we seem pretty close on low fuel but they are quick on high fuel,” the Australian commented afterwards. “I think they will have a bit more on low fuel for tomorrow, but relative to Ferrari we had a pretty good day though we need to find a bit more.”

Ricciardo's former teammate echoed his view, adding: “Yeah, Mercedes looked very strong, so I think they're a bit ahead, both of them. Then I think it's very close between us and Red Bull.

“We did a lot of laps today, it's more quiet on-track than off-track, so I enjoyed that," Vettel continued. "We'll see what we get tomorrow, I think we can fine-tune the balance and that should help us.

“As I said, it will be tough to beat Mercedes. They look quick in all conditions, all tyres. So we'll see.”

For Ricciardo, this weekend is more compromised as he will take a fourth grid penalty of the season and second in as many races after changing engine parts following his failure in Mexico.

Asked if the setbacks were becoming frustrating, the 28-year-old replied: “It is not perfect, it is not nice. I knew coming into the weekend it is going to be a likely scenario, so look we have the penalty now so all I can ask for is to finish the race.

“In the next two races, this engine has to get us to the checkered flag that is my wish now.”

Ricciardo doesn't see too much reason to change his approach going into the weekend, however, with possible opportunities in qualifying potentially negating some of the penalty's impact.

“It won’t change because it is only 10 places it still makes sense to try and fight for the pole, especially if it is wet,” he said.

“Maybe I will put it on pole tomorrow and then wake up Sunday in 11th, it is what it is. I don’t think we are far off. If we can find a little something, maybe the rain, maybe I will start 11th.”

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes continued to set the pace in Practice 2 for the Brazilian Grand Prix but the gap to their rivals would close in the heat of the afternoon at Interlagos.

The predicted rain would be nothing more than a few drops late on as teams carried out a typical program of short and long runs. In the hotter track conditions, lap times would actually slow compared to the morning with the Briton's best time of 1:09.515s some three-tenths slower than he managed in Practice 1.

A small mistake at the high-speed Ferradura corner on his first attempt meant Hamilton's best came on the second flying lap - when the optimum performance of the tyre would have been lost.

Nevertheless, it was still enough as he led the sister car driven by Valtteri Bottas by half a tenth of a second and over two-tenths clear of Daniel Ricciardo, who it was confirmed will take a 10-place grid drop due to new engine parts.

The Australian's former teammate Sebastian Vettel would be one-hundredth clear of his current Red Bull partner Max Verstappen in fourth and fifth respectively, with the leading quintet separated by less than four-tenths of a second. Kimi Raikkonen would be sixth but some six-tenths off the leading pace as he couldn't maintain his third from the morning.

Esteban Ocon would move Force India into the 'best of the rest' position they have had for much of the year in seventh, just ahead of Felipe Massa and Nico Hulkenberg, who Ocon was involved in a momentary incident as the drivers backed up toward the end of the lap, as the three drivers all lapped in the 1:10.3s bracket.

Fernando Alonso would keep McLaren just inside the top 10 in 10th, edging Hulkenberg's Renault teammate Carlos Sainz by three-hundredths of a second with Sergio Perez another hundredth back in 12th.

The session would see three drivers spin off at different stages, with Marcus Ericsson having the biggest moment as the Swede went off at Mergulho, making contact with the barrier. Though he was able to get back to the pits, the Sauber driver wouldn't be seen again for the rest of the session.

Haas' brake problems returned on Friday with Romain Grosjean going off at the Senna 'S' on several occasions. The Frenchman's biggest moment, however, was at Turn 4 - Descida de Lago - when the car wouldn't slow down sufficiently and he slid into the run-off area.

The last was a spin for Stoffel Vandoorne at Turn 2, as the Belgian lost the rear of his McLaren over the kerb before continuing.

The two Toro Rosso drivers look to recover from their pair of engine issues in the morning and would complete a combined 97 laps in the afternoon as Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley finished 16th and 17th respectively.

At the bottom of the timings was Antonio Giovinazzi, as Haas chose to have the Italian complete his Friday run in the afternoon, fearing Kevin Magnussen would not have got any dry running if he had not participated in the morning.

George Russell says making his Formula 1 Grand Prix debut gave him a 'surreal feeling' after the newly-crowned GP3 champion drove Sergio Perez's Force India in the opening practice session ahead of Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix. 

Russell completed 29 laps and posted the 12th fastest lap time in the 90-minute session. His best effort was just under six-tenths adrift off Esteban Ocon in the other Force India. 

Although this marked Russell's maiden practice outing, the 19-year-old has already driven this year's Mercedes for two days in the post-Hungarian Grand Prix tests in Budapest. 

“First and foremost I want to thank Force India because I really enjoyed today," Russell said. 

"It’s something I have been working towards for a long time and even though it feels normal right now, it’s a surreal feeling to know I have been driving in a race weekend.

"It’s a huge step up for me, but I have been prepared as well as I could be: I have done days in the simulator with both Mercedes and Force India and I feel that, after my days at the test in Budapest, this was the next step.

"I didn’t know the car or the circuit and I wanted to learn as much as I could to review and take to Abu Dhabi, a track I know."

Force India secured fourth place in the constructors' championship last time out in Mexico and it was trialling 2018-spec parts on Friday in Brazil. 

“As we expected, this turned out to be part winter testing day, part regular Friday, especially in FP1, with a very comprehensive plan split between the cars," deputy team principal Bob Fernley explained.  

Fernely also expressed his delight with Russell's performance, the Britain will drive the VJM10 for the second time in FP1 in Abu Dhabi. 

"George performed admirably, especially considering he had never driven our car or at Interlagos. As we expected after his good work in the simulator, he slotted straight in with the team," he added. 

Following his GP3 success, the Mercedes junior is expected to earn promotion to Formula 2 in 2018, with the possibility of being teammates with European Formula 3 champion Lando Norris. 

Lewis Hamilton proved the pace will be rapid around Interlagos this weekend, setting several new lap records as he led Practice 1 at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The newly crowned four-time world champion didn't waste much time setting an initial new fastest ever lap with his first flying lap, from there the tenths were chipped away as he tested the single lap performance of the Supersoft tyre, eventually resting with a 1:09.202s.

Despite the blue skies in Sao Paulo, most of the teams were completing their Practice programs in the morning as rain is forecast to arrive in the afternoon that meant lower fuel runs and race simulations were done in the first 90 minutes of action.

One team that would miss out, however, was Toro Rosso as Brendon Hartley suffered an engine failure after just 15 minutes, coming to a halt on the main straight. His problem would lead to investigations of the sister car of Pierre Gasly, with another problem found leaving the Frenchman garage-bound.

For the rest, it was all about data gathering with Mercedes looking tough to beat at the front. For Hamilton's immediate pace, teammate Valtteri Bottas was right behind in second just over a tenth covering the two Silver Arrows.

The Finn would be four-tenths clear of countryman Kimi Raikkonen in third, who had the two Red Bulls in close proximity to the Ferrari in fourth and fifth. Sebastian Vettel was hampered by a spin at Pinheirinho early on as the German was only sixth.

Felipe Massa got his bid for one last good result at his home race off to a strong start showing good pace to take the top midfield spot in seventh for Williams. McLaren continued their recent progress with both cars high up as Stoffel Vandoorne took eighth and Fernando Alonso P10.

It wouldn't be a top 10 without a Force India this season and Esteban Ocon ensured that remained the case in ninth. His team-mate for the first session was GP3 champion and fellow Mercedes junior George Russell and, despite a few early delays, the young Briton was impressive just six-tenths slower in 12th.

The two Haas’ of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen followed in 13th and 14th as the American team opted to wait until Practice 2 until allowing Friday driver Antonio Giovinazzi in the car,  ensuring their race drivers got dry running in.

The two Renault’s were down in 15th and 16th with both cars involved in moments during Practice 1. First, Lewis Hamilton was forced onto the grass at Juncao as Nico Hulkenberg went up the inside of the Mercedes with everyone backing up to get a clean lap, then, later, Carlos Sainz would be gestured to by Vettel after holding up the Ferrari in the Senna ‘S’.

The two Sauber’s would complete the representative order as F2 champion Charles Leclerc out-paced regular race driver and likely 2018 teammate Marcus Ericsson by a tenth of a second in his latest Friday run.

Towards the end many completed race simulations with the threat of rain in the afternoon, the common theme was a lack of grip with drivers sliding on the worn Supersoft compound as well as blistering on the front-left tyre, pointing to a possible two-stop race.

The gap over a single lap for Mercedes wouldn't translate either with Red Bull, in particular, matching the Brackley team's pace.

Williams Chief Technical Officer Paddy Lowe says Robert Kubica will 'almost certainly' drive for the team in the post-Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tyre test later this month. 

In June, Kubica returned to the cockpit of a Formula 1 car for the first time since 2011 when he drove Renault's 2012 car in Valencia. 

Renault further evaluated Kubica as a serious contender for a 2018 seat, which including running the 32-year-old in the post-Hungarian Grand Prix test. 

Kubica impressed but the team opted for Carlos Sainz Jr, leaving Williams as Kubica's last chance of returning to the sport following his horrific rallying accident six years ago. 

The Grove-based outfit ran Kubica for two days in its 2014 car at Silverstone and the Hungaroring.

According to Lowe, it's likely he will get his first chance at driving its current machinery in the post-race tyre test in Abu Dhabi.  

 "Almost certainly we'll give him one of the tyre test days after Abu Dhabi," Lowe told Sky Sport Germany. 

"Obviously it's something that's getting a lot of attention and notice, but it's something we're going to do internally, so we won't tell anyone what we're doing at this stage."

Kubica is facing stiff competition for a seat alongside current Williams driver Lance Stroll. The team's reserve driver Paul di Resta, Mercedes junior Pascal Wehrlein and Red Bull outcast Daniil Kvyat. 

Beating Valtteri Bottas in the championship and first preparations for 2018 are now the motivations for Sebastian Vettel over the final two races, according to the German.

The Ferrari driver saw hopes of a first championship with the Scuderia end in Mexico, though is still confident it is a goal he will achieve, as first lap contact with Lewis Hamilton left him too much time to make up to continue the fight on to this weekend in Brazil.

Rather than reflect on what could have been, the 30-year-old insists the atmosphere remains upbeat inside the Scuderia with attention already on looking to make up for this year's shortfalls.

“The morale is good," he said. "Obviously time passes and it helps but for sure in the moment it was a very big disappointment after the race especially, but yeah, we come here as a different race, a new challenge, so plenty to look forward to.

“The target is to come back stronger next year and have an even better season. Overall, there’s been a lot of positives but for sure if you lose out on the fifth world championship then initially the disappointment is bigger.”

There is still a key win Vettel and Ferrari can score and that is to end Mercedes' run of four consecutive one-two finishes at the top of the Drivers' standings with 15 points between himself and Valtteri Bottas.

“Well [motivation] may be a bit different but I think the moment you step in the car you want to do the best you can, that’s something that we all have inside us so it’s not that different,” he claimed, looking ahead to Brazil.

“We’re trying to improve the car this year to help also next year so the development is ongoing and, for sure, in terms of this year it’s not over yet, we still have the challenge to seal second place, that’s the priority right now.

“Obviously we have two races, we want to do them as well as we can as a team. A lot of work ahead, and a lot of things that we can learn for this year and also take it on board for next year.”

Valtteri Bottas capitalised on an uncharacteristic blunder from Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to take a morale-boosting pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

World champion Hamilton was the favourite for pole position after dominating on Friday, but dramatically crashed out on his first timed lap, sliding into the barriers after losing the rear at Turn 6.

The accident, which will see the Briton start Sunday's race the back of the grid, set up a three-way fight for pole position between Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

Vettel topped Q2 and grabbed provisional pole position on his first run in Q3, but Bottas delivered a 1:08.322s at the death to beat the German by just under four-hundredths of a second.

Bottas roared in jubilation over the radio, having claimed his first pole since Austria and out-qualified Hamilton for the first time since the summer break.

Kimi Raikkonen will start from third after lapping two tenths slower than the leading duo, with Max Verstappen joining him on the second row.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth ahead of Force India's Sergio Perez but will start from P15 at best after incurring an engine penalty.

Fernando Alonso will line up sixth after another impressive qualifying performance, with Renault pair Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz and home favourite Felipe Massa rounding out the top ten.

It was a disappointing day for Esteban Ocon, who was forced to settle for P11, while Haas' Romain Grosjean was also dumped out at the second hurdle. 

Stoffel Vandoorne wound up 13th ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Brendon Hartley, who managed to out-qualify team-mate Pierre Gasly on a turgid weekend for Toro Rosso.

Pascal Wehrlein missed out on a Q2 berth by a fraction but did out-pace Gasly, the struggling Williams of Lance Stroll and Marcus Ericsson. 

The two Toro Rossos will join Hamilton at the foot of the field. 

For the first time, Lewis Hamilton has admitted he could "get somewhere near" matching if not surpassing Michael Schumacher's record for most wins in Formula 1 in the coming years.

The Briton, who replaced the German seven-time champion at Mercedes in 2013, is currently second in the all-time list with 62 wins and has scored 41 victories in the last five seasons alone with the Brackley-based team.

During Mercedes' era of domination since 2014, Hamilton, who became a four-time champion last time out in Mexico, has averaged 10 wins per season, a total that would see him move ahead of Schumacher in 2020 if he could maintain it.

With more races on the calendar and only a handful of teams challenging for wins, that goal may be attainable but the 32-year-old insists it is not one of his ambitions.

“I hope I will keep winning for a long, long time,” he said on Thursday. “If the fight remains within you and it is still there now, I still don’t really have the desire to chase Michael [though] of course, I’m much closer now than I’ve ever been.

“Before getting 91 wins felt so distant, but maybe now… it’s still a long way off but it’s not impossible to think it could potentially get somewhere near. I’m really just grateful to be up there among the real, real greats. Not only amongst them but now standing up there with them along with the four titles and the pole positions, I think that’s something I’m very proud of.

“I think I’ve got one more year in me, probably more, and I plan to win a lot more races, so we will see how it goes.”

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It is expected Hamilton will sign a contract extension which would see him at Mercedes until 2020 as soon as this month and though some have wondered how long the now 10-year F1 veteran has left, Lewis claims the passion is keeping him going.

“I don’t know, I just love racing,” he said when asked what his motivation is. “Particularly this year I have found a new love for racing and the battle at the last race, particularly at the beginning, I feel even more engaged.

“I know it’s strange, but it’s not like when you’ve won a championship you can take a brief sigh. It doesn’t really change anything other than having another F1 title alongside your name. I’m still a racing driver at heart and still have a lot of fight left in me.”

Sebastian Vettel concedes he was "too shy" on the brakes heading into Turn 1 on his final qualifying lap at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Vettel held provisional pole but was pipped by Valtteri Bottas, and replays showed the German lost time with a more cautious approach at the Senna S'.

Thus, he was left a touch frustrated after qualifying, having missed out on top spot by just four-hundredths of a second.

"We have improved since Friday, and that’s the important thing," the four-time world champion said.

"I was happy with my car today, but in my last run, I was perhaps a bit too shy in braking for the first corner.

"I had a better run at the end of my out-lap, so there was probably more grip than I expected there.

"In the last sector, I knew I could make up for some of the lost time, and I did, but it wasn’t enough."

Nonetheless, Vettel was encouraged by Ferrari's competitiveness and is confident of going one better in Sunday's race. 

"It was very close, and we’re usually even closer in race conditions, so my motivation is high for tomorrow and I’ll being aiming for a win."

Vettel is eyeing a third victory at Interlagos after previous triumphs in 2010 and 2013.

Max Verstappen has claimed the recent engine failures for Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo are proof the problems he had earlier in the year were not driver-related.

The Australian has been forced to pull over at both the last two races in Austin and Mexico due to power unit problems and is likely to start from the back of the grid for the second straight race, as a result, this weekend in Brazil.

For the 20-year-old the situation has been very different with four top four finishes in a row, including two wins in Malaysia and Mexico, but after four engine-related retirements of his own earlier in the year, some including Ricciardo were questioning if he pushes engines too hard.

“Daniel has also had problems lately. If we could control it, then it would have been better, but as you can see it can happen on either side of the garage,” Verstappen claimed on Thursday. “It seemed like in the beginning of the year Daniel was good in that, but it has nothing to do with the driver."

Though his luck has turned in recent rounds, the Dutchman also suggested it is still impossible to look at 2017 from a positive perspective as there was never any chances of fighting for the title.

“Of course the season, in general, is still not how it should have been because I am catching up a lot now but I lost a lot of points,"  he said. "I am not happy in that way, that I am still sixth in the championship. On the other hand, it does not really matter if you are second or sixth, it is not first.”

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But, looking forward, he has much better expectations that the deficiencies from this year won't be repeated and also hopes the engine influence will be greatly reduced.

“We learned from our mistakes so hopefully we will have a better car at the beginning of the year, which I anyway think we will do because the rules are not really changing,” the three-time F1 winner stated. “It is not that from one to the other season you are going to gain a massive amount of downforce, but we should be alright.

“The whole package is still not the best but what is the most important for me personally is the car,” he added. “Everybody can win championships when you have a very powerful engine but I hope that, especially in the upcoming two years, it will be at least a bit closer and even when we are a few horsepower down we can win races.”