Lewis Hamilton didn’t let a fever or car crash get in the way of his job on Friday as he dominated the opening practice session by more than half a second to team-mate Nico Rosberg.’s
The Britain’s 1:13.543 was easily enough to ensure he was the quickest man on the circuit, though the time was some way off the best time seen in FP1 last year.
Sebastian Vettel led the charge behind the Mercedes duo on third, just a tenth off Rosberg and almost three tenths ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in fourth.
Kimi Raikkonen was fifth quickest, but suffered a high-speed spin at Descida do Lago, sending him into the sand, though he escaped, managing to return to the pits.
The top 18 were covered by just 2.2 seconds, with the Manor-Marussia cars four seconds adrift in 19th and 20th.
2015 Brazilian Grand Prix Practice Times (FP1):
| # | Driver | Team | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
| 01 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:13.543 | 28 | |
| 02 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:14.062 | 0.519 | 36 |
| 03 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:14.168 | 0.625 | 27 |
| 04 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:14.449 | 0.906 | 27 |
| 05 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:14.549 | 1.006 | 20 |
| 06 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:14.696 | 1.153 | 25 |
| 07 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:14.886 | 1.343 | 25 |
| 08 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:14.960 | 1.417 | 38 |
| 09 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:15.174 | 1.631 | 33 |
| 10 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:15.192 | 1.649 | 31 |
| 11 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso | 1:15.314 | 1.771 | 38 |
| 12 | Jolyon Palmer | Lotus | 1:15.352 | 1.809 | 33 |
| 13 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:15.379 | 1.836 | 28 |
| 14 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:15.381 | 1.838 | 29 |
| 15 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:15.408 | 1.865 | 32 |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:15.413 | 1.870 | 29 |
| 17 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:15.469 | 1.926 | 24 |
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:15.798 | 2.255 | 34 |
| 19 | Alexander Rossi | Marussia | 1:17.860 | 4.317 | 23 |
| 20 | Will Stevens | Marussia | 1:18.090 | 4.547 | 22 |
