Lewis Hamilton fastest in first Brazil practice

Lewis Hamilton's far-from-ideal preparation for the Brazilian Grand Prix did not hinder the world champion when he set the pace in Friday's first practice session.

The Mercedes driver delayed his flight to Sao Paulo by a day due a fever on doctor's orders and also hit the headlines after crashing his supercar in Monaco.

Hamilton put his accident down to "heavy partying and not much rest for 10 days", but did not appear to be suffering any ill effects when he was half a second faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg in FP1.

The Brit clocked 1:13.543, with Rosberg second quickest and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel third on the timesheets.

Daniel Ricciardo was fourth in a Red Bull powered by a new Renault engine which the Australian said he was "curious" to test for the first time.

Kimi Raikkonen was fifth fastest in a session which same him spin off into the gravel at Turn 4 but escape without doing any damage.

Top 10

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1:13.543secs 2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes): 1:14.062s 3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari): 1:14.168s 4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull): 1:14.449s 5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari): 1:14.549s 6. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) 1:14.696s 7. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:24.886s 8. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) 1:24.960s 9. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India): 1:15.174s 10. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus): 1:15.192s