Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton set the pace in practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday, staying in position to secure the Formula One constructors' championship this weekend.
Bottas had a lap of 1 minute, 08.846 seconds in the second session at the Interlagos circuit, with world champion Hamilton 0.003 seconds behind.
Click to Gallery
Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton set the pace in practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday, staying in position to secure the Formula One constructors' championship this weekend.
Mercedes leads Ferrari in the constructor's championship by 55 points. Hamilton clinched his fifth drivers' title at the Mexican GP two weeks ago.
"It sounds really simple and silly, but bad luck really is the best term I can use," Ricciardo said.
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, of Finland, gets out of his car after the second free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP PhotoNelson Antoine)
Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, of Finland, walks in the pit lane after the second free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP PhotoNelson Antoine)
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished third, 0.073 seconds from Bottas. The Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen ended in fourth and fifth places, respectively, and Vettel's teammate Kimi Raikkonen was sixth.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, steer his car ahead of Hass driver Kevin Magnussen of Denmark, during the first free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP PhotoNelson Antoine)
Mercedes leads Ferrari in the constructor's championship by 55 points. Hamilton clinched his fifth drivers' title at the Mexican GP two weeks ago.
Verstappen led the first practice session on Friday, with Vettel and Hamilton close behind.
Ricciardo, who was fourth in both sessions, was handed a five-place grid penalty after Red Bull had to replace his turbocharger for the sixth time this season. The Australian driver, who was on pole position in Mexico, also started from the back because of penalties in Italy and Russia.
The Renault car of German driver Nico Hulkenberg is lifted from the track after he crashed during the second free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Brazil will stage the Formula One Grand Prix's penultimate race of the season on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndre Penner)
"It sounds really simple and silly, but bad luck really is the best term I can use," Ricciardo said.
The second session was stopped after nine minutes after Renault's Nico Hulkenberg crashed entering the front stretch. The German driver was not injured but the car was badly damaged.
Rain is expected in qualifying on Saturday and in the race on Sunday.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, steers his car during the second free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Brazil will stage the Formula One Grand Prix's penultimate race of the season on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndre Penner)
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, brakes hard during the second free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Brazil will stage the Formula One Grand Prix's penultimate race of the season on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndre Penner)
Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, of Finland, gets out of his car after the second free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP PhotoNelson Antoine)
Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, of Finland, walks in the pit lane after the second free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP PhotoNelson Antoine)
ISTANBUL (AP) — More than 40 people remained stranded in cable cars high above a mountain in southern Turkey on Saturday, 19 hours after one pod hit a pole and burst open, killing one person and injuring seven.
The accident occurred around 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Tunektepe cable car just outside the Mediterranean city of Antalya during the busy Eid al-Fitr holiday. Operations to rescue the stranded people continued throughout the night.
“128 citizens in 16 pods have been rescued under difficult conditions,” Okay Memis, director of the Turkish search and rescue agency AFAD, told media Saturday morning. “The rescue of 43 others in eight remaining pods is ongoing.”
He added that rescuers hope to complete rescue operations before dark.
The casualties occurred when a pod hit a pole and burst open, sending its passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials said.
State-run Anadolu Agency identified the deceased as a 54-year-old Turkish man. The injured were six Turkish citizens and one Kyrgyz national, including two children. They were rescued by Coast Guard helicopters.
Images in Turkish media showed the battered car swaying from dislodged cables on the side of the rocky mountain as medics tended the wounded.
A total of 543 first responders and seven helicopters are involved in the rescue operations, including teams from AFAD, the Coast Guard, firefighting teams and mountaineering teams from different parts of Turkey, officials said.
Friday was the final day of a three-day public holiday in Turkey marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which sees families flock to coastal resorts.
The cable car carries tourists from Konyaalti beach to a restaurant and viewing platform at the summit of the 618-meter (2,010-foot) Tunektepe peak. It is run by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality. The cable car line was completed in 2017 and receives a major inspection around the beginning of the year, as well as routine inspections throughout the year.
Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation. An expert commission including mechanical and electrical engineers and health and safety experts was assigned to determine the cause of the incident.
Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
A rescue team work with passengers of a cable car transportation systems outside Antalya, southern Turkey, April, Friday 12, 2024. A cable car disaster in southern Turkey left one person dead and seven injured over the busy Eid al-Fitr public holiday on Friday, local media reported. (IHA via AP)
A severely damaged cabin of a cable car transportation system is seen outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
