Johannesburg: Four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton fended off his team-mate Valtteri Bottas to emerge as the quickest driver as Mercedes made one-two finish in the opening practice session of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix at the Sao Paulo Race Track.
The British driver, who clocked the fastest lap of one hour and 9.202 seconds, was 0.127 seconds ahead of Bottas, Sports24 reported.
Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen finished third quickest in his Ferrari ahead of Red Bull’s pair of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Raikkonen’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa of Williams clocked sixth and seventh fastest, respectively.
Earlier, Hamilton became a four-time world champion with a ninth-place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix, the race which was won by the Red Bull’s Verstappen.
ANI