FP1: Track record for Hamilton in Brazil

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas cruised to a Mercedes 1-2 at the end of FP1 for the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

Hamilton's dominance of this F1 season continued as he set a track-record of 1:09.202 around Interlagos, utilising the quickest supersoft tyre available to end the session one-tenth of a second ahead of team-mate Bottas.

Kimi Raikkonen (P3) and Max Verstappen (P4) were both a full half a second behind the leading Mercedes duo, with the champion constructors' performance raising early concerns that Sunday's race could be a straightforward affair for the dominant team.

Daniel Ricciardo,who faces a ten-place penalty, was P5 while Sebastian Vettel found himself down in P6.

With a track temperature of 38 degrees in dry, sunny conditions,as proceedings begun the drivers took to the track early, knowing that rain is not only forecast for the afternoon but for the remainder of the race weekend.

Both Vettel and Hamilton experienced minor issues that forced them to leave the track at different points, but Hamilton took little time in finding his groove, and he was eventually followed by Bottas in recording efficient times on the supersoft tyres they switched to mid-session.

In what was a largely uneventful session, woes continued for Brendon Hartley, who followed up his issues in Mexico with engine failure here, forcing a yellow flag and all but confirming the New Zealand driver will start from the back of the grid.

Elsewhere, Toro Rosso toiled as engine troubles meant Pierre Gasly couldn't make it out of the garage.