Mercedes AMG Petronas
Nico Rosberg again topped the times ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix in a second practice session red flagged on three occasions.
Rosberg’s time of 1:12.123 proved to be 0.213s quicker than Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton around Interlagos.
The Brit’s fastest lap came on his second attempt on Option tyres, having gone off at Mergulho on his first run. Hamilton was set to improve Rosberg’s time on his third attempt but opted to pit instead.
Kimi Räikkönen went third quickest for Ferrari, though made a couple of minor errors, including an off at Juncao.
Daniel Ricciardo briefly led the way on Options but finished in fourth as rivals improved, while Williams pair Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa placed fifth and sixth respectively.
Fernando Alonso went seventh for Ferrari but his session ended prematurely when his car crawled to a halt along the Reta Oposta and caught fire.
Alonso quickly extinguished the flames while the session was red flagged to allow for the recovery of his car.
Daniil Kvyat ended the day in eighth place for Toro Rosso, while outgoing world champion Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top 10.
While Alonso's fire was the most dramatic, a couple of other drivers triggered red flags when their cars stopped on track.
Jean-Éric Vergne’s Toro Rosso stopped at the Descida do Lago early on, while Esteban Gutiérrez’s Sauber crawled to a halt at the Reta Oposta with 10 minutes remaining.
Sergio Pérez sat out the session due to engine damage sustained to his Force India when reserve driver Daniel Juncadella crashed during the first practice session.
