Sergio Pérez was forced to cut a heavy fuel run short at Interlagos on Friday afternoon, enduring an untimely gearbox problem in the closing stages of second practice. The Sauber driver lost control of his car whilst downshifting in preparation for Turn 13, before being forced to pull over on the following steep hill.
"I was on a long run with heavy fuel and the soft tyres when a gearbox problem stopped me. It is a shame I could not complete the run," Pérez explained. "With lower fuel the car was quite okay on the soft tyres.
"However, we still have some work to do for our qualifying performance. Force India looks strong here, but Renault and Toro Rosso look reachable."
Team-mate Kamui Kobayashi ended up 14th fastest overall, admitting that although there were no problems with his car, the balance needs to be improved overnight.
"I have done a lot of laps today," he commented. "Actually the degradation is quite high with both tyre compounds, which would be tough in the race if the temperatures stay like today. But there is also a chance of rain. I had no problems with the car but we are working on improving the balance, which isn’t quite right yet."
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:13.392 | 35 |
| 2. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:13.559 | 41 |
| 3. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:13.587 | 41 |
| 4. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:13.598 | 35 |
| 5. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 01:13.723 | 38 |
| 6. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:13.750 | 39 |
| 7. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:13.787 | 36 |
| 8. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:13.872 | 42 |
| 9. | A. Sutil | Force India | 01:14.144 | 41 |
| 10. | P. di Resta | Force India | 01:14.807 | 48 |
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| Sergio Perez | |||
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