Valtteri Bottas led an extremely close one-two for Mercedes in the second practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Just three thousandths of a second separated Bottas from team mate Lewis Hamilton after their qualifying simulation runs on the super-soft tyres.
Ferrari were right on the pace once again as well, Sebastian Vettel lapping seven-hundredths of a second off Bottas’s time. But despite their one-lap pace both cars exhibited signs of tyre blistering during their long runs at the end of the session.
The Red Bull pair separated Vettel from his team mate. Daniel Ricciardo was the quicker of the two, but the morning pace setter Max Verstappen missed much of the first half of the session while his team repaired a cracked oil tower.
Romain Grosjean was seventh – and best of the rest – for the second session in a row. The other occupants of the top 10 were also no different: the other Haas of Kevin Magnussen – which lost its right-hand mirror at the end of practice – Charles Leclerc’s Sauber and Esteban Ocon’s Force India.
Sergio Perez, who sat out the first session while Nicholas Latifi drove his car, backed his team mate up in 11th place. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) and Fernando Alonso (McLaren) were just a few hundredths of a second slower.
The session was red-flagged early on after Nico Hulkenberg crashed heavily at Juncao, damaging the right-hand side of his Renault. Hulkenberg climbed out of his car unhurt.
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