Williams Martini Racing
Williams driver Valtteri Bottas believes that the Option tyres are lasting better than in 2013 at Interlagos due to the newly laid surface at the track.
Pirelli has brought the Soft and Medium tyres to Brazil - a change on their original allocation of Medium and Hards following protests by drivers - in order to deal with the newly resurfaced Interlagos circuit.
Bottas was fifth fastest in the afternoon session, having sat out the first session for reserve driver Felipe Nasr.
"It was an interesting day; the track felt quite different with the new surface but it seemed to have a decent amount of grip and was cleaning up quickly," he said.
"There was a bit of graining on the Option tyres but not nothing major and they seemed to be lasting better than last year because of the smoother track surface.
"We still have work to do with the car balance but the initial feeling is pretty good. In dry conditions we seem competitive and on the pace, but the weather is looking very variable over the weekend so we need to be good at adapting to it."
Team-mate Felipe Massa was sixth quickest.
"Today was about understanding the car and its balance on the new asphalt," said the Brazilian. "The grip was actually pretty good and felt better than it has been in recent years, but because it is brand new, quite dirty and the temperatures were very high, it was difficult to get a real understanding of the car’s balance on the long runs.
"The car is feeling pretty good so we are starting from a good base, and as the track keeps improving I hope we can follow that progression with the handling to make sure we are in the hunt for tomorrow’s qualifying."
