Wet and wild day for drivers at Interlagos practice sessions

By ITN News Editor November 16, 2019 14:18

Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari one-two in practice for the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix on Friday, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third fastest on an incident-filled afternoon at a damp Interlagos.Vettel, a three-times winner in Brazil, lapped in one minute 09.217 seconds on soft tyres with Monegasque team mate Charles Leclerc, who has a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change, 0.021 slower.Mercedes, who head into the season’s penultimate race weekend with both titles already secured for an unprecedented sixth year in a row, had Valtteri Bottas fourth.Last year’s winner Lewis Hamilton, now a six-times world champion after ending the title battle in Texas two weeks ago, ended up fifth fastest after failing to set a time in the first session but without any concern.The morning was an expensive one for Red Bull, who saw Thai rookie Alexander Albon lap fastest before switching from intermediate tyres to slicks and crashing out, bringing the session to a premature end.