The opening Free Practice sessions for the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2015 got underway today at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, where the Manor Marussia F1 Team drivers Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi were 19th and 20th on the timesheet.

Alexander Rossi: "Today was pretty challenging in terms of getting to grips with the car balance and managing our tyres, so we definitely have some work to do overnight. Despite this we were able to complete a solid run plan and we are confident that we can make the necessary improvements leading into FP3 and Qualifying tomorrow."

Will Stevens: "Today has been a productive day and it was the first time in a while that we have managed to complete good runs for qualifying and for the race during the Friday programme. I’m pretty happy with how the car is working here. I think the race is going to be tricky with rear tyre degradation, so I’ve worked hard to try and maximise the car for Sunday. I am enjoying the circuit here and hoping for a good weekend."

John Booth, Team Principal: "A very positive Friday for us today. FP1 was dedicated to set-up work and despite a few niggles on Will’s car, both drivers managed to collect important information to be analysed this evening. The short lap in São Paulo helped in the sense that the issues could be solved without impacting the run plan significantly. In FP2 the risk of rain only translated into a few drops from time to time, so we ran a solid programme that gave us invaluable information to prepare for qualifying and the race. Both drivers had the opportunity to test the two race compounds and check balance and degradation for Sunday."

Check out our Friday gallery, here.