Preparations for the final race of the 2011 Formula One season began today with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg completing the first two practice sessions for the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo.

Michael and Nico completed a total of 137 laps during practice today, just five laps short of two race distances. The second session concluded with six Mercedes-Benz powered cars in the top ten, as did the last race in Abu Dhabi. The historical probability of the Safety Car being used in Sunday's race stands at 70%, equal to that in Montreal.

Michael Schumacher: "We had quite a good day here in Interlagos and were able to work through our schedule consistently, even if the track was pretty slippery. The lap times are traditionally very tight here so let's see what we can do in qualifying tomorrow. For the rest of the weekend, the weather forecast is for rain, so maybe we will see some surprises as we reach the end of the season."

Nico Rosberg: "The conditions out there were quite difficult today as the track was a bit slippery. However our times were quite good and not too far away from the top cars. We learned a lot on high and low fuel levels during the sessions. As the weather forecast is rain, it's difficult to make a prediction for tomorrow. Maybe if it rains, it will be a bit easier to surprise the top teams."

Ross Brawn: "We had two very good practice sessions today on the last Friday of the 2011 season. Both sessions ran well and we achieved the work that we had planned. As always, there is still progress to be made tomorrow ahead of qualifying. A positive day with good work from Michael, Nico and the team."

Norbert Haug: "We made quite a positive start to the weekend and saw a second practice session where the lap times appeared close between P1 and P8. Our long runs during race simulations on heavy fuel loads were not perfect today and there is more work to be done on the set-up of our cars. The forecast predicts rain for tomorrow and for race day, so perhaps this 2011 season finale will have some surprises in store."

Check out our practice gallery, here.