SAO PAULO, Brazil – Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari on top of the practice charts for the Brazilian Grand Prix Friday at Autódromo José Carlos Pace.
Vettel led a Ferrari one-two sweep of the first two positions in practice with a 1:09.217 lap time in the second practice. Charles Leclerc ended up second fastest overall, only .021 seconds shy of Vettel’s time.
Max Verstappen was third fastest for Red Bull, followed by the Mercedes duo of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.
There were several incidents during both practice sessions. The first session was marred by rain, leading to an issue for Alexander Albon. Albon paced the rain soaked session, but he ended the first practice in the wall at turn 12.
Others to have issues included Verstappen and Danill Kvyat, both of whom spun late in the first practice. The second practice opened with more issues as Robert Kubica kicked off the session in poor form by crashing in turn three.
The Toro Rosso entries of Kvyat and Pierre Gasly also had issues in the second practice, with both cars coming to a stop with engine issues. Kvyat’s engine issue caused him to slide through turn 12 and lightly tap the wall before coming to a stop.