Sebastian Vettel managed to pip his Monegasque counterpart Charles Leclerc to the top spot, with the two finishing in first and second place.

In third position was Max Verstappen, managing to out-do both Mercedes, who seemed to struggle this session.

Taking up the final position in the top six was Kevin Magnussen, in what seemed to be a much-improved Haas car.

Interchangeable conditions

As per FP1 the weather in Sao Paulo was less than favourable, with the interchangeable conditions the cause that caught out Alexander Albon and meant the red flag was introduced.

The session started off dry and continued in that way despite some areas of the track still being slick from the session before. Most noticeably on the curbs surrounding the track.

Miracle recovery

Despite topping the session in FP1, it would have been no surprise if Albon was absent from at least part of FP2.

The Thai driver took a heavy hit coming to the end of the session, hitting the wall of the track after venturing onto the runoff area.

The right front of the car was damaged to the point that it came off and needed a substantial repair. However, the Red Bull team managed to get the car sorted for Albon to start the session.

Incidents all over

A little over five-minutes into the session Robert Kubica crashed to bring out the red flags.

The Pole lost control of the car coming out of the Senna esses after a wild snap of oversteer and clouted the exterior wall of the next turn.

The Williams took a big blow along the left side of the car, with Kubica managing to walk away from a heavy impact. The esses were causing issues up and down the grid, with both Pierre Gasly and Magnussen both struggling early on.

However Gasly’s day was to get worse when his car went up in smoke just before the 20-minute mark, leaving his Toro Rosso stricken on the side of the track, heralding the yellow flags and virtual safety car.

Along with Gasly, with five minutes of the session remaining, Daniil Kvyat managed to find the wall after sliding to a halt in the same place that Albon went down earlier today, causing the second red flag of the session.

Strong midfield showings

For a large section of the session there were three cars separating Albon and Lewis Hamilton.

The three cars were Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen. The Haas put in some good laps and actually seemed supportive across the radio when talking about his tyre wear.

Both Raikkonen and Ricciardo also seemed to look confident when it came to the longer runs during the session.

Results

  1. Sebastian Vettel – 1.09.217s
  2. Charles Leclerc +0.021
  3. Max Verstappen +0.134
  4. Valtteri Bottas +0.156
  5. Lewis Hamilton +0.223
  6. Kevin Magnussen +0.926
  7. Daniel Ricciardo +0.977
  8. Kimi Raikkonen +0.993
  9. Alexander Albon + 1.058
  10. Carlos Sainz +1.093
  11. Nico Hulkenberg +1.108
  12. Pierre Gasly +1.135
  13. Antonio Giovinazzi +1.202
  14. Daniil Kvyat +1.207
  15. Sergio Perez +1.226
  16. Romain Grosjean +1.287
  17. Lance Stroll +1.351
  18. Lando Norris +1.483
  19. George Russell + 2.601
  20. Robert Kubica – Not Classified
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