Friday at Interlagos: Hamilton at ease, Rosberg in his wake
Motors Inside looks back at Friday's free practice sessions in Brazil. For Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets both morning and afternoon. As for Nico Rosberg, he remained in contact with his teammate, just three hundredths behind him in the second free session.
The duo from the Brackley firm completed laps without any issues during Friday’s practice sessions. Naturally, medium and soft tires were favored during FP1 and FP2.
Lewis Hamilton – first time twice – continues to maintain the pressure and keeps moving forward in pursuit of a fourth title and a first victory at Interlagos, the only circuit he has never won on alongside Baku. He was satisfied with his day and the performance of his car: « It was a good day. We were able to complete our program, and the car seems to be handling well. »
One downside to the day for the Briton was the heat: « It’s quite challenging here physically with the high temperatures, not only in the car but also for the team in the garage. »
In addition to physical difficulties, the heat caused issues in finding the right settings: « Finding the right balance is not easy in these conditions since the tires heat up a lot. But our pace on the long stints seems to be very good. So we can be happy with this start to the weekend. »
For Ayrton. For Brazil. 🇧🇷@MercedesAMGF1 @BellRacingEU #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/gdn97veBC7
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) 11 novembre 2016
For his part, Nico Rosberg – 3rd and 2nd fastest in the morning and afternoon – the winner of the last two editions at Interlagos remained close to his rival even though, like in Mexico, he stayed behind in terms of times. The current championship leader reported a typical Friday marked by the heat: « It was very hot today, more than what we expect for the rest of the weekend. This made it difficult to prepare for qualifying and the race. Otherwise, it was a fairly normal Friday. »
The German is wary of the Red Bulls and makes an observation about tire degradation: « Our car seems fast, but the Red Bulls are certainly close. The soft tires degrade a lot on long stints with blisters on the rear tires. There is also surprising degradation of the mediums, but I think we have decent pace on long stints.
Strategically, it will not be simple for the race. Once again, it is supposed to be much colder, so we might see something completely different on Sunday.
Despite this, Nico Rosberg felt happy to be back at Interlagos: « It’s great to be back in Brazil. It’s a good track and it’s always a special feeling to drive where there is so much history and tradition. »
The second-to-last Friday of this 2016 season ended in favor of the Briton who wasn’t planning to give up anything. The German, who was further down the rankings in the morning, closed the gap by the end of the afternoon session. He must, however, feel the pressure mounting inside him, even if he could close the debate by winning the title this Sunday, especially if he were to win the race.
was a decent start in Brazil, but still a lot of work to do. #BrazilGP 🇧🇷👊🏻 📸 by Steve Etherington pic.twitter.com/G4BbE55hme
— Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg) 11 novembre 2016
