2014 Brazilian Grand Prix Friday - Practice

For now all of that talk can take a back seat, though, as the countdown to the first track action of the weekend in Brazil is well and truly on.

Further down the grid, Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez believe they will be able to announce their 2015 plans sooner rather than later - possibly as early as this weekend.

Fernando Alonso says there is no deadline for him to confirm his future, while Jenson Button - who many believe is going to lose his seat to the Spaniard at McLaren - dropped the firmest hints yet that he could be leaving Woking for 2015.

From the shock of Sauber announcing Williams test driver Felipe Nasr as one of its drivers next year (despite Adrian Sutil believing he has a contract with the team), there has been yet more speculation on the futures of several other drivers.

With the world championship fight guaranteed to go to the final race in Abu Dhabi, the Lewis Hamilton/Nico Rosberg battle for glory took a back seat on Thursday, as the paddock was rife with talk about the driver market.

As usual the weather at Interlagos is expected to play a part over the course of the weekend, but right now there's no sign of any rain.

Welcome to AUTOSPORT's live coverage of free practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix.