Practice makes perfect as Rosberg not giving up battle

Formula One: Nico Rosberg proved he is unwilling to allow Lewis Hamilton to ride roughshod all over him by turning in a dominant day of practice ahead of tomorrow’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Five successive victories have allowed Hamilton open up a 24-point cushion over the German with two grands prix remaining, at Interlagos on Sunday and Abu Dhabi on November 23.

Rosberg’s best time of the day was a one minute 12.123secs for one of the most-renowned circuits in F1, with Hamilton just over two tenths of a second adrift – the same for both sessions.

For once, it was Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari – rather than team-mate Fernando Alonso as has often been the case – emerging the best of the rest, with the Finn just over half a second adrift.

As for Alonso, his session came to a premature end when his car burst into flames after he had pulled off the circuit, initially with smoke billowing from the rear of his car.

Alonso finished down in seventh come the conclusion to the day, 0.999secs off of Rosberg’s pace.