Nico Rosberg is encouraged about Mercedes’ chances of rivalling Red Bull despite wet conditions making it hard to draw conclusions from Friday practice.
“I have higher hopes now that perhaps we can give Red Bull a hard time this weekend,” said Rosberg, who was quickest in both of today’s practice sessions. However Sebastian Vettel set a quicker ‘ultimate lap time’ across the three sectors in the second, wetter session.
Rosberg’s Mercedes team mate was less positive about his chances and is hoping conditions change before the race.
“I’m struggling a little to get the feel of the car in the wet,” said Lewis Hamilton, “and that’s really been the same for me with our car all season, so we have some work to do overnight to see where we can make improvements.”
“I’d really prefer a dry weekend but that’s out of our hands.”
However today’s running was so inconclusive for some they aren’t even sure whether they would prefer wet or dry weather. “It’s too early to say what conditions will best suit our car,” said Felipe Massa.
While the wet conditions meant there was little appetite for too much running, drivers were also constrained by the limited availability of wet weather tyres for the weekend. Because first practice was wet an extra set of intermediate tyres were issued as per the rules, but the second session was also wet and saw very little action.
“It would’ve been nice to have more tyres to play with,” said Jenson Button.
Longest stint comparison – second practice
This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) during their longest unbroken stint:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
Sebastian Vettel | 89.8 | 88.939 | 101.202 | 87.993 | 99.333 | 87.531 | 87.628 | 87.63 | ||
Mark Webber | 90.362 | 95.602 | 90.014 | 96.207 | 89.852 | |||||
Fernando Alonso | 93.841 | 88.928 | ||||||||
Felipe Massa | 91.229 | 91.117 | 92.06 | |||||||
Jenson Button | 91.77 | |||||||||
Sergio Perez | 94.083 | |||||||||
Heikki Kovalainen | 90.788 | 89.871 | 93.508 | 89.19 | 92.45 | 88.129 | ||||
Romain Grosjean | 94.579 | 89.676 | 89.485 | 96.406 | 88.985 | 88.891 | ||||
Nico Rosberg | 98.738 | 88.693 | 96.479 | 99.413 | 99.437 | 87.306 | 87.954 | |||
Lewis Hamilton | 105.203 | 94.044 | 88.974 | 94.048 | 92.398 | 97.906 | 88.147 | |||
Nico Hulkenberg | 90.01 | 90.671 | 98.332 | 90.382 | ||||||
Esteban Gutierrez | 90.207 | 89.989 | 94.894 | 89.625 | 89.88 | 103.652 | 89.049 | |||
Paul di Resta | 93.076 | 89.174 | 93.32 | 89.334 | ||||||
Adrian Sutil | 91.641 | 90.571 | 90.627 | 90.093 | 89.783 | |||||
Pastor Maldonado | 92.978 | 90.862 | 90.862 | 108.764 | 89.717 | |||||
Valtteri Bottas | 93.225 | 90.968 | 90.586 | 90.425 | ||||||
Jean-Eric Vergne | 90.72 | 95.207 | 98.871 | 90.432 | 95.199 | 88.833 | 97.508 | 88.405 | 88.825 | |
Daniel Ricciardo | 94.178 | 89.851 | 96.081 | 92.368 | 92.027 | 89.988 | ||||
Charles Pic | 93.235 | 99.421 | 93.125 | 92.113 | 91.87 | 91.558 | 95.382 | 91.978 | 91.165 | |
Giedo van der Garde | 92.786 | 91.972 | 94.561 | 92.511 | 92.284 | 92.784 | 91.838 | 91.249 | 93.761 | 91.118 |
Jules Bianchi | 93.337 | 92.986 | 92.689 | 97.815 | ||||||
Max Chilton | 95.149 | 93.497 | 94.585 | 103.321 | 92.714 | 93.161 | 95.524 |
Sector times and ultimate lap times – second practice
Pos | No. | Driver | Car | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate | Gap | Deficit to best |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 22.010 (3) | 45.817 (2) | 19.417 (1) | 1’27.244 | 0.287 | |
2 | 9 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 21.979 (1) | 45.660 (1) | 19.667 (6) | 1’27.306 | 0.062 | 0.000 |
3 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 22.041 (4) | 45.835 (3) | 19.595 (2) | 1’27.471 | 0.227 | 0.121 |
4 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 22.052 (5) | 46.253 (6) | 19.642 (4) | 1’27.947 | 0.703 | 0.981 |
5 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 21.990 (2) | 46.377 (7) | 19.686 (9) | 1’28.053 | 0.809 | 0.094 |
6 | 7 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Renault | 22.309 (7) | 46.138 (4) | 19.682 (8) | 1’28.129 | 0.885 | 0.000 |
7 | 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 22.441 (11) | 46.186 (5) | 19.751 (13) | 1’28.378 | 1.134 | 0.182 |
8 | 18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 22.313 (8) | 46.422 (8) | 19.670 (7) | 1’28.405 | 1.161 | 0.000 |
9 | 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 22.400 (9) | 46.438 (9) | 19.653 (5) | 1’28.491 | 1.247 | 0.248 |
10 | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 22.296 (6) | 46.511 (11) | 19.733 (12) | 1’28.540 | 1.296 | 0.000 |
11 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 22.490 (13) | 46.461 (10) | 19.701 (10) | 1’28.652 | 1.408 | 0.239 |
12 | 12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 22.458 (12) | 46.603 (12) | 19.846 (14) | 1’28.907 | 1.663 | 0.142 |
13 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 22.422 (10) | 46.953 (13) | 19.600 (3) | 1’28.975 | 1.731 | 0.199 |
14 | 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 22.648 (14) | 46.967 (14) | 19.935 (15) | 1’29.550 | 2.306 | 0.167 |
15 | 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 22.773 (16) | 47.179 (15) | 19.705 (11) | 1’29.657 | 2.413 | 0.126 |
16 | 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 22.690 (15) | 47.431 (16) | 20.141 (17) | 1’30.262 | 3.018 | 0.163 |
17 | 6 | Sergio Perez | McLaren-Mercedes | 23.061 (20) | 47.516 (18) | 20.171 (18) | 1’30.748 | 3.504 | 0.000 |
18 | 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 23.000 (19) | 47.549 (19) | 20.247 (20) | 1’30.796 | 3.552 | 0.322 |
19 | 22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Cosworth | 23.108 (21) | 47.485 (17) | 20.364 (22) | 1’30.957 | 3.713 | 0.104 |
20 | 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham-Renault | 22.892 (18) | 48.149 (21) | 19.995 (16) | 1’31.036 | 3.792 | 0.129 |
21 | 23 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Cosworth | 22.852 (17) | 48.029 (20) | 20.308 (21) | 1’31.189 | 3.945 | 0.022 |
22 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 23.112 (22) | 48.443 (22) | 20.215 (19) | 1’31.770 | 4.526 | 0.000 |
Complete practice times
Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | Total laps | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’24.781 | 1’27.306 | 26 | ||
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’25.230 | 1’28.147 | 22 | ||
3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’25.387 | 1’27.531 | 27 | ||
4 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1’25.391 | 1’31.770 | 31 | ||
5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’25.593 | 1’28.928 | 23 | ||
6 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’25.797 | 1’27.592 | 35 | ||
7 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 1’25.946 | 1’30.748 | 23 | ||
8 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’26.064 | 17 | |||
9 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Renault | 1’26.133 | 1’28.129 | 44 | ||
10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’26.232 | 1’28.560 | 37 | ||
11 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’26.248 | 1’28.540 | 24 | ||
12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’26.326 | 1’29.049 | 45 | ||
13 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’26.570 | 1’28.891 | 40 | ||
14 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’26.593 | 1’28.405 | 33 | ||
15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1’27.115 | 1’29.783 | 32 | ||
16 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1’27.269 | 1’30.425 | 38 | ||
17 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1’27.358 | 1’29.717 | 36 | ||
18 | James Calado | Force India-Mercedes | 1’27.436 | 9 | |||
19 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 1’28.107 | 1’31.118 | 34 | ||
20 | Charles Pic | Caterham-Renault | 1’28.199 | 1’31.165 | 32 | ||
21 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’28.739 | 15 | |||
22 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1’29.174 | 11 | |||
23 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’30.004 | 1’31.061 | 42 | ||
24 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’31.211 | 19 | |||
25 | Rodolfo Gonzalez | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’32.646 | 19 |
Speed trap
# | Driver | Car | Engine | Max speed (kph) | Gap | |
1 | 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | Renault | 290 | |
2 | 9 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | Mercedes | 282.3 | 7.7 |
3 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India | Mercedes | 278.4 | 11.6 |
4 | 7 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus | Renault | 277.1 | 12.9 |
5 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | Renault | 276.1 | 13.9 |
6 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | Ferrari | 274.8 | 15.2 |
7 | 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | Ferrari | 274.5 | 15.5 |
8 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | Renault | 274.1 | 15.9 |
9 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 272.2 | 17.8 |
10 | 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | Mercedes | 270.2 | 19.8 |
11 | 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | Renault | 266.9 | 23.1 |
12 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | Renault | 265.2 | 24.8 |
13 | 18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | Ferrari | 264.5 | 25.5 |
14 | 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham | Renault | 262.8 | 27.2 |
15 | 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | Ferrari | 259.6 | 30.4 |
16 | 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | Renault | 259.1 | 30.9 |
17 | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | Ferrari | 258.8 | 31.2 |
18 | 12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | Ferrari | 258.6 | 31.4 |
19 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren | Mercedes | 254.9 | 35.1 |
20 | 6 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | Mercedes | 253.1 | 36.9 |
21 | 23 | Max Chilton | Marussia | Cosworth | 251.5 | 38.5 |
22 | 22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | Cosworth | 248.6 | 41.4 |
2013 Brazilian Grand Prix
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- 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
- 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix team radio transcript
Image © Daimler/Hoch Zwei
F1 Noob (@noob)
22nd November 2013, 20:47
Lewis will eat him in qualifying
magon4 (@magon4)
23rd November 2013, 5:10
neva!!!!
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
22nd November 2013, 20:47
Look at laps 5-7 for Vettel
Astonishing consistensy, albeit over only 3 laps but still…
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
22nd November 2013, 21:32
Hamilton was even more pessimistic in the comment on Autosport, saying there would be “no hope” if it stays wet. He has often looked much less comfortable in the wet than Rosberg, who was usually right on the pace, though curiously Hamilton finished all rain-affected qualifyings ahead of Rosberg.
Kribana (@krichelle)
22nd November 2013, 22:21
(@adrianmorse
Not really mate, Hamilton finished ahead of Rosberg in Malaysia and in Australia only because he was able to adapt very well to the changing conditions. If it stayed wet, I am sure that Rosberg by the way he was driving, would have been ahead. Or even on pole position. Hamilton has been struggling with the car since the season started so if that does come here, that’s a big time loss for Lewis. Remember that in SPA, Rosberg set “probably the lap of the year” in Q3. That was full wet, and Hamilton only beat him because Rosberg didn’t have a chance of another lap. I’ve said it before, that Newey was wary and cautious about Mercedes pace in the wet.
Kribana (@krichelle)
22nd November 2013, 22:23
Really, that was one of the best laps in the wet for quite a long time. I can remember Hamilton’s lap in q3 in SPA 2010 was also brilliant because everyone was losing grip that time, and he just loses out on pole by less than a tenth. Rosberg’s lap though, was astonishing considering that Di Resta had set the time during a dry-wet track. Rosberg’s time was on full wet.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
23rd November 2013, 6:37
@krichelle,
he did outqualify Rosberg on those days, that’s why I said it was curious.
I think in the wet two factors are currently very important: driver confidence and tyre temperature (especially in the Pirelli era), with the former presumably dependent on the former. For some reason Hamilton has often looked un-confident in the wet this season, though I still hope he can pull something out of the bag when it matters. The wet qualifyings so far:
– In Australia Hamilton was almost knocked out in Q1 – and would have been knocked out had he heeded his team’s instruction to come into the pits to inspect his damaged rear wing. In drying Q3 he was faster than Nico.
– In Malaysia I remember Rosberg looking faster in the dry conditions of Q1 and Q2, but in wet Q3 Hamilton was faster.
– In Canada I don’t remember much about Q1 and Q2, but in Q3 he was consistently faster.
– In Spa Rosberg looked faster, but perhaps Lewis’ tyres did not come in until the final lap. His sector 2 was 1 second faster than both Red Bulls were directly in front of him on track.
electrolite (@electrolite)
22nd November 2013, 22:14
Wowzers, that is quite the photo of Nico Rosberg!
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
22nd November 2013, 23:31
Is Vettel just getting epic drive out of the final “proper” turn leading on to the back straight? That seems to be where he’s making up the time (I missed FP).
Anirudh S (@anirudh1992)
23rd November 2013, 1:03
Will Gonzalez get a drive next year? I hope not. Chilton is a second faster than him.
DaveD (@daved)
23rd November 2013, 2:32
It was only an inconclusive day because of the idiotic rules limiting them to 4 sets of full wets for the ENTIRE weekend! Why would they do that? On a rainy weekend it means the fans who pay to see practice get to watch the rain on an empty track because the teams are busy saving their tires for qualifying and the race. What is the deal with that IDIOTIC rule? The tyres cost almost nothing compared to the money the teams spend on tires so it’s a joke to say it’s all to save money.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
23rd November 2013, 12:08
@daved
Tyres might not be that expensive but flying thousands of them around the world to race tracks where they’re usually not going to be used certainly is.
taurus
23rd November 2013, 12:30
How many tires do you need If you want to provide teams with one more set of wet tyres?
22 * 4 = 88
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
23rd November 2013, 13:48
Hembery was quoted as saying 600-750k Euros for flying around all the unused wet tyres per year.
DaveD (@daved)
23rd November 2013, 15:25
First, I meant to say the tyres cost nothing compared to all the carbon fiber bits. Second, there are only three or four races per year where the venue potentially has that much rain expected. It would only cost them a few hundred thousand extra, at most, to bring extra wet tyres. If they are going to expect fans to buy tickets and show up for all sessions, then they can damn well be expected to bring the equipment needed to drive around the track.