Lewis Hamilton on track in Sao Paulo ahead of the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix [Picture: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes]

FORMULA 1 racer Lewis Hamilton bids for pole position in qualifying for the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix later this afternoon.

The 26-year-old Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ace from Hertfordshire set the pace in second practice at Interlagos on Friday.

However, the 2008 F1 world champion was only fourth fastest in P3 today (Saturday) ahead of the all-important qualifying session in Brazil, which starts at 4pm.

Sebastian Vettel topped the third practice timesheets around the Autódromo José Carlos Pace circuit in Sao Paulo for Red Bull ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button.

The McLaren pitwall told Button: “You are P2. Vettel pipped us at the end as his fuel load came down. Your times were competitive with the fuel load we had.”

Lewis Hamilton shows off his specially designed race helmet for the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix [Picture: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes]

Earlier in the session, Button was told: “Red Bull are losing over 0.1s in the last sector, which suggests they’re hitting the limiter. They must be running a short top gear.

“We need to think about what the weather’s going to do tomorrow. If it’s wet.”

Mark Webber clocked the third best time in P3 with Hamilton next, followed by the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

The 2011 Grand Prix of Brazil starts at 4pm on Sunday.