Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix 2014: Results, Times for Practice and Qualifying
Lewis Hamilton edged ever closer to his second Formula One world title with his victory in Texas last time out, stretching his lead to 24 points over Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
This weekend sees the penultimate race of the season as the Brazilian Grand Prix takes place at the Interlagos circuit.
Rosberg simply must beat Hamilton this weekend and close the gap on the Englishman to improve his chances of taking the championship at the double-points Abu Dhabi finale.
While the maximum Hamilton can stretch his lead to this weekend is a catchable 49 points, the German will hope his team-mate finishes outside the top 10 on Sunday, in which case a Rosberg victory would see him take the championship lead again by a single point.
While Hamilton does not necessarily need race wins to take the title, the former McLaren man is eager to finish the season strongly, per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson: "I want to win the world championship by winning, rather than finish fifth or wherever. I'm not coming to these last couple of races with a game plan. I want to win."
Hamilton has won five races in a row coming to Sao Paulo and is undoubtedly the driver in form.
Sebastian Vettel won in Brazil last season and will be hoping for a good result this weekend after a relatively poor season.
However, the four-time world champion continues to be out-driven by his rookie team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who is third in the drivers’ standings and claimed a podium place last time out.
Local boy Felipe Massa will be looking for a strong weekend in front of his home crowd, while his Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas can still catch Ricciardo in the standings.
There will be no Caterham and Marussia teams again this weekend, with the latter's unfortunate demise officially confirmed on Friday, per BBC News.
Caterham, however, are set to compete in the final race in Abu Dhabi in two weeks' time after raising money through fan investment, per Sky Sports News HQ.
Interlagos invariably throws up a phenomenal, unpredictable race and it is unlikely to be any different in 2014.
Rosberg and Hamilton will likely be fighting it out at the front of the race on Sunday, but they will first be looking to take the edge by gaining pole position on Saturday.
Read on for all the results from the practice and qualifying sessions as they unfold.
Qualifying: Rosberg Snatches Pole from Hamilton
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Nico Rosberg will start in pole position in the Brazilian Grand Prix after the German enjoyed another fine day at the Interlagos circuit. He set a pole-lap record of 1:10.023 to take first place, besting Rubens Barrichello's mark from the 2004 edition. Rosberg also took home the season's pole trophy, according to Mercedes AMG's Twitter feed.
The German has been fastest in all three of the practice sessions preceding the qualifying process, and once again the Mercedes man was too good for his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who will start in second place on the grid.
Felipe Massa delighted his home crowd with some superb laps, and he'll begin in third place ahead of Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas. Trailing them in fifth will be Jenson Button, who will surely be delighted with a fine qualifying effort in the McLaren.
Sebastian Vettel will begin in sixth ahead of Button's teammate Kevin Magnussen, while the Ferrari pairing of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen will begin eighth and tenth respectively, bookending Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.
There was talk during the final practice session that there could be rain during the qualifying stints, but the sun was shining as the 18 drivers battled for pole position in the penultimate race of the campaign. And although it was sad to see the grid a few cars down, the condensing of the field was always going to make for a very competitive qualifying period.
Lotus' 2014 season woes continued though, as Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean were unable to make it into Q2, finishing in 18th and 15th respectively. Joining those two in the drop zone were Sergio Perez, who finished in 17th in the Force India, and Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne who was 16th fastest.
Given the concertina effect into Turn 1 that often causes problems for the drivers at Interlagos, getting close to the front and subsequently into the final qualifying session is critical for a good start. But Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat was unable to get that far and neither was Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India, finishing in 14th and 12th respectively.
Q2 also spelled the end of the line for the Sauber pairing of Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez, as they finished up in 13th and 11th respectively.
It paved the way for an engrossing Q3, and although Rosberg topped the charts after the first round of laps, it was perilously close between the German, Hamilton and the William duo of Massa and Bottas. And it was the Brit who initially laid down a big marker in the second round, dipping under Rosberg's first effort to post a time of 1:10.056.
But as he has done all weekend, Rosberg had a little bit too much for his teammate and just seconds after Hamilton had crossed the line, he pipped him to pole by posting a time of 1:10.023.
It's a vital pole position for the German and one that keeps his lingering title hopes alive. He's 24 points down on Hamilton going into this race and needs to claw some momentum back from the Brit—who has won the last five grand prixs—if he's to harbour any realistic hopes of taking the title going into the season finale.
The full results of the qualifying session, via Formula1.com:
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:10.347 | 1:10.303 | 1:10.023 | 14 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:10.457 | 1:10.712 | 1:10.056 | 14 |
| 3 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1:10.602 | 1:10.343 | 1:10.247 | 17 |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1:10.832 | 1:10.421 | 1:10.305 | 17 |
| 5 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:11.097 | 1:11.127 | 1:10.930 | 16 |
| 6 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:11.880 | 1:11.129 | 1:10.938 | 19 |
| 7 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:11.134 | 1:11.211 | 1:10.969 | 16 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:11.558 | 1:11.215 | 1:10.977 | 18 |
| 9 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:11.593 | 1:11.208 | 1:11.075 | 20 |
| 10 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:11.193 | 1:11.188 | 1:11.099 | 18 |
| 11 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:11.520 | 1:11.591 | 18 | |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:11.848 | 1:11.976 | 14 | |
| 13 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:11.943 | 1:12.099 | 17 | |
| 14 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | STR-Renault | 1:11.423 | 9 | ||
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:12.037 | 8 | ||
| 16 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Renault | 1:12.040 | 10 | ||
| 17 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1:12.076 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1:12.233 | 7 |
P3: Clean Sweep for Rosberg, as Hamilton Spins
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Mercedes continued to dominate the practice sessions at the Brazilian Grand Prix, as Nico Rosberg was fastest once again at the iconic Interlagos circuit. The German trails Lewis Hamilton by 24 points in the race for the driver's championship.
Rosberg produced an exceptional lap on the soft tyre compound, and he's a man that looks wholly composed ahead of what'll be a critical qualifying session if he's to preserve his lingering championship hopes.
Hamilton recovered from a spin on one of his hot laps on the first corner to finish second in the standings. Overall, it was a difficult session for the world championship leader; aside from that spin, he suffered a big lock up a few laps earlier.
The Brit wasn't too far off his team-mate's fastest time, though, and after making a few rudimentary errors during final practice, he'll be confident of cutting down the margin to Rosberg and snatching pole position.
Williams also impressed throughout the final practice session. Felipe Massa posted a host of back-to-back laps at a brisk pace, while Valtteri Bottas was in the mix throughout. They look the team most likely to challenge the Mercedes drivers come race day, but the indications are that they'll require a strong qualifying session if they're to do so.
The Interlagos circuit is typically a nightmare for team tacticians when it comes to predicting weather, and reports suggest that the qualifying sessions could be run in changeable conditions.
Rosberg looks the man to beat here, but he needs to convert this glittering practice form into a pole position and eventually a race win. Either way, the German looks like a man fully intent on hauling himself back into the world championship race.
The full results of the third session, via Formula1.com:
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:10.446 | 28 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:10.560 | 0.114 | 20 |
| 3 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1:10.875 | 0.429 | 21 |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1:11.054 | 0.608 | 23 |
| 5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:11.188 | 0.742 | 11 |
| 6 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:11.210 | 0.764 | 19 |
| 7 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:11.316 | 0.870 | 15 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:11.399 | 0.953 | 8 |
| 9 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:11.499 | 1.053 | 19 |
| 10 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | STR-Renault | 1:11.834 | 1.388 | 26 |
| 11 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:11.967 | 1.521 | 21 |
| 12 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1:12.069 | 1.623 | 29 |
| 13 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:12.184 | 1.738 | 27 |
| 14 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:12.235 | 1.789 | 30 |
| 15 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Renault | 1:12.235 | 1.789 | 29 |
| 16 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:12.286 | 1.840 | 24 |
| 17 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:12.324 | 1.878 | 17 |
| 18 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1:12.942 | 2.496 | 25 |
P2: Nico Rosberg Fastest in Chaotic Session
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Mercedes once again took top honours during the second practice session in Brazil, with Nico Rosberg beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton's fastest time by two-tenths of a second.
The Brit only managed one fast lap on the soft tyres, however, losing a lot of time in Turn 11. Hamilton later focused on his long runs, and numerous red flags and on-track incidents made a second fast lap impossible.
The second practice was interrupted three times, with Esteban Guttierrez and Jean-Eric Vergne suffering mechanical trouble. No rider had a more spectacular incident than Fernando Alonso, however, as he had to stop his car due to a massive engine fire.
The Spaniard grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the flames himself, with the fans treating him to a round of applause for his efforts.
There were more incidents during the session, such as an unsafe release for Felipe Massa. The Brazilian was released in the path of Kimi Raikkonen, who hit the brakes hard in order to avoid a collision.
Plenty of teams saw their schedules overturned as a result of the stoppages, and the final times after the second session may not be a good indication of how things stand ahead of Saturday's qualifying session.
Jenson Button only managed 16th, for example, a result of electrical issues during the first session. Sergio Perez didn't even manage a time, courtesy of Daniel Juncadella's spectacular crash, wrecking his car in the process.
Raikkonen looked impressive during his run, one of the few capable of staying in the Mercedes' rear-view mirrors, while the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Massa is expected to improve their performance on Saturday.
Rosberg may have been aided by the many red flags and Hamilton's lack of opportunities to clock a good fast lap, but back-to-back finishes ahead of his world-title rival will no doubt give him a boost heading into the remainder of the race weekend.
The full results of the second session, via Formula1.com:
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:12.123 | 36 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:12.336 | 0.213 | 36 |
| 3 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:12.696 | 0.573 | 32 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:12.956 | 0.833 | 24 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1:13.035 | 0.912 | 31 |
| 6 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1:13.099 | 0.976 | 27 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:13.122 | 0.999 | 20 |
| 8 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | STR-Renault | 1:13.254 | 1.131 | 35 |
| 9 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:13.333 | 1.210 | 28 |
| 10 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:13.479 | 1.356 | 33 |
| 11 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1:13.497 | 1.374 | 33 |
| 12 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:13.714 | 1.591 | 37 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:13.882 | 1.759 | 32 |
| 14 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:13.902 | 1.779 | 25 |
| 15 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:14.204 | 2.081 | 36 |
| 16 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:14.209 | 2.086 | 31 |
| 17 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Renault | 1:17.171 | 5.048 | 5 |
| 18 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | No time |
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P1: Rosberg Heads Hamilton as Juncadella Crashes
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The two Mercedes' inevitably went fastest in the first practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday, with Nico Rosberg topping Lewis Hamilton by two-tenths of a second.
The session was interrupted late on in Interlagos as Force India's Daniel Juncadella crashed into the barriers with half an hour remaining after losing control. This drew a red flag from the marshals.
The Spaniard had been handed Sergio Perez's car for the session and caused quite significant damage to the front end of the car, which will now need to be fixed before the afternoon action.
But for the pair at the top of the drivers' standings, it was Rosberg who took first blood in an important penultimate weekend in the title fight.
Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat had a strong session going third fastest, and he will hope to keep that pace up all weekend.
Fernando Alonso was, as ever, consistent on Friday morning as he went fourth, just under a second down on Rosberg. The Spaniard is looking to improve this weekend on a sixth-place finish in Austin.
The Red Bulls were split by some distance as Daniel Ricciardo came in 10th while Sebastian Vettel—winner on this track last season—went 14th fastest.
Jenson Button took very little part in the first practice session on Friday as his car rolled to a stop on his installation lap, and he was unable to take any further part with mechanics attempting to fix an electrical problem.
Max Verstappen also had some struggles as he took Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso out for the first practice session, the 17-year-old struggling for grip and locking up late on, but he did manage to put in some decent times and finished sixth-fastest.
Valtteri Bottas will be out for his first run in the afternoon session, the Finn having handed his car to Felipe Nasr in the morning, and he is convinced Williams can be competitive this weekend.
Speaking to Formula1.com, Bottas said: "Setting up the car is not easy because of the long corners. Good balance is important but also a good straight line speed, so I think we can be competitive here."
His team-mate Felipe Massa was fifth fastest in front of his home crowd, and he will be hoping to put in a stellar performance come Sunday.
The afternoon session is likely to see some longer stints from many of the cars as each driver attempts to get as much run-time on the track ahead of Saturday's key qualifying session.
For now, Rosberg sits atop the time sheets after the first session, with the German hoping it will stay that way through Saturday and Sunday.
Here are the full results after the first practice session, per Formula1.com:
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:12.764 | 30 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:12.985 | 0.221 | 32 |
| 3 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | STR-Renault | 1:13.723 | 0.959 | 39 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:13.742 | 0.978 | 30 |
| 5 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1:13.811 | 1.047 | 28 |
| 6 | 38 | Max Verstappen | STR-Renault | 1:13.827 | 1.063 | 26 |
| 7 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1:14.034 | 1.270 | 31 |
| 8 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:14.114 | 1.350 | 32 |
| 9 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:14.136 | 1.372 | 30 |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:14.197 | 1.433 | 27 |
| 11 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:14.434 | 1.670 | 31 |
| 12 | 40 | Felipe Nasr | Williams-Mercedes | 1:14.522 | 1.758 | 22 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:14.678 | 1.914 | 33 |
| 14 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:14.902 | 2.138 | 24 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:15.109 | 2.345 | 23 |
| 16 | 34 | Daniel Juncadella | Force India-Mercedes | 1:16.030 | 3.266 | 17 |
| 17 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | No time | 1 | |
| 18 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari |
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