Brazilian F1: Hamilton dominates proceedings on opening day
Lewis Hamilton was at his quickest best in both practice sessions in Sao Paulo as the list of top-five drivers hardly changed through the day.
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the first day of practice for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday, while Formula One leader Sebastian Vettel was second and title challenger Fernando Alonso was fifth.
Hamilton, in his last race with McLaren, had a lap of 1 minute, 14.026 seconds in the second practice session at Interlagos, .274 quicker than Vettel's Red Bull. Vettel's teammate Mark Webber was third in 1:14.523 and Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa was fourth in 1:14.553. Alonso clocked 1:14.592 in his afternoon run.
Vettel has a 13-point lead over Alonso and needs to finish fourth or better to become F1's youngest three-time champion at age 25. He can also be the first to win three in a row since Michael Schumacher, who won five consecutive from 2000-2004.