SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen to the fastest time during first practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix as championship leader Nico Rosberg had to settle for third.Hamilton set his fastest time on a set of fresh soft tyres midway through the session and was on an even quicker lap on his second attempt before backing off in the middle sector. The slim margin over Verstappen suggests Red Bull has an opportunity to take the fight to Mercedes this weekend, which could be crucial for the championship if Hamilton can win the race with the two Red Bulls in second and third ahead of Rosberg.But Rosberg, who only needs to finish second or third this weekend to stay on track to beat Hamilton to the title, has had strong form in Sao Paulo in recent years and will be looking to the afternoon session to overturn the 0.230s deficit he had to his teammate in the morning. Red Bulls Daniel Ricciardo will also be hoping to improve after finishing 0.380s off teammate Verstappen and 0.476s off the best time overall set by Hamilton.Valtteri Bottas was a distant fifth for Williams, 1.2s off the pace, as Ferrari took itself out of the running for the top times by opting not to use the soft tyres during the 90 minute session. Williams and Force India look set for another close battle with Bottas just over a tenth ahead of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg and 0.189s quicker than teammate Felipe Massa in eighth. The two Ferraris were split by just 0.002s in ninth and tenth as they used the slower medium compound tyre to set times 1.67s off Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel spun off in Interlagos tricky middle sector towards the end of the session, but no obvious damage was done to the car.Carlos Sainz finished the session 11th ahead of teammate Daniil Kvyat, who experienced a puncture midway through the session. Jenson Button led McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso in 13th and 14th, with Romain Grosjean 15th despite admitting he was lost with the set-up of his car towards the end of the session.The Saubers of Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson were 16th and 17th ahead of Manors Esteban Ocon, who was just under a tenth quicker than Jolyon Palmers Renault and teammate Pascal Wehrlein in 19th and 20th. Charles Leclerc was 21st as he drove Esteban Gutierrezs Haas during FP1 while Russian Sergey Sirotkin finished 22nd after an outing in Kevin Magnussens Renault. Brian McCann Braves Jersey . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Tom Glavine Jersey . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/ozzie-albies-braves-jersey/ . Hey!" The lower tier of the School End of Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road was packed solid with a very festive-sounding Chelsea choral section in this particular part of South Africa Road London, W12. Bobby Cox Braves Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Bobby Cox Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.Joe Root hits another ODI hundred for England but the visitors suffer an agonising one-wicket defeat to South Africa as the series is tied in Johannesburg... Roots eighth ton and second straight in the series, helped England recover from a collapse of 4-13 to set South Africa 263 to win.After looking well-placed to clinch a series win with the hosts struggling to 210-8 in reply, Chris Morris then spankeed 62 off 38 balls to dash Englands dreams.ddddddddddddClick on the video above to watch the best of the action from Englands innings - and then watch continued coverage of the fourth ODI on Sky Sports 2 HD. Also See: Scorecard Over-by-over Get Sky Sports Cricket videos ' ' '