Rosberg fastest as Friday running ends at Sao Paulo
Having been half a second slower than his team mate in the morning session, Nico Rosberg led the timesheet as the second free practice session came to an end in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
His team mate at Mercedes was second fastest, ahead of the Ferrari duo led by Sebastian Vettel. Daniel Ricciardo continued to stay close to Ferrari, helped by a more powerful Renault engine.
Apart from Kvyat in 9th, the midfield runners were all Mercedes powered, including Force India, Lotus and Williams.
Apart from the end result that is the product of running on the soft tyre, Mercedes were similarly dominant on the medium tyre, again followed by Ferrari.
In the trouble zone, McLaren Honda was again a major player, with Fernando Alonso coming to a premature halt at Turn 4 with another apparent powertrain problem. The Spaniard had earlier reported a power problem before sitting on the barrier to see how his MP4-30 was recovered.
Results
| Pos. | .No. | .Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:12.385 | - | 42 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:12.843 | +0.458s | 39 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:13.345 | +0.960s | 41 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:13.500 | +1.115s | 43 |
| 5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing | 1:13.585 | +1.200s | 39 |
| 6 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:13.603 | +1.218s | 37 |
| 7 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:13.634 | +1.249s | 45 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:13.710 | +1.325s | 43 |
| 9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull Racing | 1:13.848 | +1.463s | 40 |
| 10 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:13.870 | +1.485s | 42 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:14.056 | +1.671s | 34 |
| 12 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:14.124 | +1.739s | 42 |
| 13 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:14.134 | +1.749s | 44 |
| 14 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:14.226 | +1.841s | 35 |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:14.326 | +1.941s | 45 |
| 16 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:14.644 | +2.259s | 37 |
| 17 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:14.772 | +2.387s | 38 |
| 18 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:15.129 | +2.744s | 10 |
| 19 | 28 | Will Stevens | Marussia | 1:16.501 | +4.116s | 35 |
| 20 | 53 | Alexander Rossi | Marussia | 1:16.787 | +4.402s | 35 |
