By Sean Chaney
**Red Bull’s Mark Webber was quickest in a disjointed first practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.**Webber’s effort of one minute 12.463 seconds put him ahead of Brawn’s Rubens Barrichello, who was second fastest.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was third fastest as championship leader Jenson Button was seventh in the second Brawn.
Rain and a stoppage following a crash by Renault’s Romain Grosjean at Turn 12 affected the amount of running in a closely-matched session in Brazil.
After 20 minutes of heavy rain the cars returned to the track but there was soon a seven-minute red flag delay after Grosjean slid off the track.
The Frenchman careered into a polystyrene braking board, scattering debris on the track.
The session started slowly as Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi staged a personal battle with the stopwatch by setting six fastest laps times as the other drivers stayed in their garages.
But as the spots of Sao Paulo drizzle began to settle the big players emerged from their garages to try and do some meaningful running before the real rain arrived.
First Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen set the quickest lap before Red Bull’s Webber and then McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets.
Brawn’s Barrichello briefly snatched top spot before Red Bull’s Vettel improved the leading time to one minute 12.932 seconds before heavy rain halted proceedings after 35 minutes.
It was a fascinating glimpse of how competitive Sunday’s grand prix could be as different sectors of the Interlagos circuit seemed to suit the strengths of different cars.
Friday’s sessions are rarely a reliable indicator of genuine race pace as they are usually used to assess fuel loads and evaluate any changes the teams make to their cars’ set ups.
But Friday’s rush to put in some quick running before the rain arrived gave the Interlagos fans a chance to see the top drivers slip-sliding around the circuit as they scrambled for grip.
Hamilton made good use of his Kers power-boost system to set some fast lap times on a circuit where there can be a 10% power deficit due to the 800m altitude.
More to follow