It was Nico Rosberg who came out on top in first practice, the German edging his team-mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton by 0.221 seconds. But as I mentioned earlier, it's in second practice where Hamilton usually begins to kick into gear. That session starts at 16:00 GMT with commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.

Lewis Hamilton leads Nico Rosberg by 24 points in the drivers' championship. Under the old points scoring system, Hamilton would need just one point on Sunday to claim the title. As it is, the championship will go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi no matter what happens, thanks to Bernie Ecclestone's double points rule.

Afternoon all, I hope you've been well fed and watered during the break between sessions because we've got another 90 minutes of practice coming up for you around Brazil's Interlagos. Buckle up.

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Advantage Nico Rosberg, then, after first practice but it's in the second session when Lewis Hamilton (pictured) really kicks into gear. The Briton has topped FP2 14 times in 17 race weekend's this year. Can he make it 15? See you in a bit to find out. Cheerio for now.

So it's time for a quick pit stop between sessions. I'll be back at 15:30 GMT ahead of FP2 which starts at 16:00. That'll last 90 minutes and provide teams with an opportunity to get some long runs under their belt ahead of Sunday's race as well as testing the option tyre.

So Mercedes finish one-two in this session for the 11th time in 18 rounds this year, with Nico Rosberg 0.221 seconds quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Eddie Jordan
BBC F1 chief analyst

"Thirdly, teams have to use Ecclestone's freight but the costs of this are high. There used to be a £10m payment from the commercial rights holder to teams to support the freight costs but Ecclestone withdrew that two years ago.

"Fourthly, there is the gross disparity of of $300m being skimmed off the top of the money allocated to pay the teams as a cash payment for the top five teams, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Mercedes."

Eddie Jordan
BBC F1 chief analyst

"There are four reasons why the three teams who entered F1 in 2010 have all failed.

"First, Caterham [previously Lotus], Marussia [previously Virgin] and HRT were promised that the sport would have a budget cap of 50m Euros and governing body the FIA failed to impose this.

"Secondly, the costs for an engine were about £5m last year but have gone up to £15m this season with the introduction of new turbo hybrid engines.

"Who's accountable? It's Bernie Ecclestone's job to make sure promises are adhered to, and these costs are not coming down next year even though the manufacturers originally said they would."

If you're just joining us, you may have missed that Marussia have ceased trading and all staff will be made redundant.

Marussia have folded despite having their best season in four years in F1. Marussia currently lie ninth in the championship thanks to the two points Bianchi scored by finishing ninth in Monaco.

They will retain that place officially, but when it comes to allocating the prize money from this season, the remaining team below them - Sauber - will be moved up and receive the funds instead.

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Impressive stuff from Max Verstappen, 17, who finished sixth quickest as he continues gaining experience ahead of his F1 race debut with Toro Rosso next season. Twenty years ago, is father Jos Verstappen made his race debut at this venue with Benetton.

McLaren:, external Mixed fortunes in that session - Kevin managed to gather a lot of data, but Jenson was sidelined by electrical troubles on his first lap.

1) Nico Rosberg 2) Lewis Hamilton 3) Daniil Kvyat 4) Fernando Alonso 5) Felipe Massa 6) Max Vertsappen 7) Pastor Maldonado 8) Kimi Raikkonen 9) Kevin Magnussen

10) Daniel Ricciardo 11) Adrian Sutil 12) Felipe Nasr 13) Nico Hulkenberg 14) Sebastian Vettel 15) Romain Grosjean 16) Daniel Juncadella 17) Jenson Button 18) Esteban Gutierrez

Replays show that Kimi Raikkonen spun again. The Finn got his tyres on the grass on the approach to Turn 12, spinning the Ferrari round and off onto the grass. He kept the engine running before rejoining.

The cars will remain out on track for a few minutes after the chequered flag so that the FIA can continue testing their virtual safety car system.

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Nico Rosberg finishes fastest in first practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

At last, Jenson Button is in the car, but it looks like he's run out of time to get into this session. What a miserable start to the weekend for the 2009 world champion.

Felipe Massa, whose last victory on home soil at Interlagos back in 2008, moves up to fifth, one second off the pace. His fellow Brazilian Felipe Nasr, who is Valtteri Bottas' Williams for this session, is 12th quickest.

Kimi Raikkonen, currently seventh quickest, is facing the wrong way at Turn Six after the rear end of his Ferrari stepped out, spinning the Finn round. He's soon back on his way, though.

Jenson Button's McLaren is still on the stands, but we could be seeing the 2009 world champion out on track shortly as he's back in the garage and just putting his helmet on.

Sauber say they sent Esteban Gutierrez out, as the Mexican bids to set his first timed lap of the day, but call him straight back in as the problem, which is unspecified, is not solved yet.