Most of championship's big guns avoided entering the track in the first half of the session, but when they did it turned out to be a hell of a show. Hamilton grabbed an early lead with a time that he would later finish the practice session, followed by local favorite Felipe Massa. Despite improving his performances lap after lap, the Brazilian only managed to get in front of the pack a few minutes before the finish line.
Had the morning session begun a few minutes later, it would have probably ended under rainy conditions.
Raikkonen ended the morning session with the 3rd best time of the day, only 0.012 seconds slower than Hamilton's. Curiously enough, 4th was BMW's Robert Kubica, followed by McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen. Completing the Top 6 was Spaniard Fernando Alonso. Renault ended the first practice session at Interlagos with both drivers inside the Top 10, as Nelsinho Piquet entered the pits after securing the 8th best time of the day.
Here are the complete results of the Brazilian Grand Prix' first practice session on Friday.
1. Massa Ferrari 1:12.305
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.495 + 0.190
3. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:12.507 + 0.202
4. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:12.874 + 0.569
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.925 + 0.620
6. Alonso Renault 1:13.061 + 0.756
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:13.298 + 0.993
8. Piquet Renault 1:13.378 + 1.073
9. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:13.426 + 1.121
10. Glock Toyota 1:13.466 + 1.161
11. Trulli Toyota 1:13.600 + 1.295
12. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:13.621 + 1.316
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.649 + 1.344
14. Barrichello Honda 1:13.676 + 1.371
15. Button Honda 1:13.766 + 1.461
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:13.806 + 1.501
17. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.836 + 1.531
18. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:13.861 + 1.556
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:14.704 + 2.399
20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:14.821 + 2.516
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