SAO PAULO: A Brazilian prosecutor is warning Felipe Massa that he can be arrested and sentenced to up to six years in prison if he takes team orders to help Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso win the Formula One title. Massa could be charged with fraud if he allows Alonso to pass him or if he does anything else that would somehow alter the result of Sunday's race in Interlagos, according to prosecutor Paulo Castilho, known for taking up sports causes in Brazil. “Massa or any other driver who does anything to fraud the result of the race can be arrested and formally charged,” he told the Associated Press Thursday. “It doesn't mean that it will happen, it will be up to the local authority in charge of the event to decide whether the law has been broken.” The law mentioned by Castilho says that it's a crime to “fraud by any means, or contribute to fraud, in any way, the result of a sporting event.” Massa arrived at the Brazilian Grand Prix saying he would give way to his teammate if needed Sunday, just like he did while leading the German GP in July so Alonso could earn more points in the race for the title. “I would do it again, I'm a professional driver,” Massa said earlier this week. Vettel fastest in practice Sebastian Vettel rubbed salt in Mark Webber's wounds Friday by lapping faster than his unhappy Red Bull teammate in both practice sessions for what could be a title-deciding Brazilian Grand Prix. Vettel led Webber one-two morning and afternoon, a day after the Australian had described himself as an ‘inconvenient' title contender and accused the championship-leading Formula One team of favoring the young German. Vettel's subsequent remark, to German television, that “If Mark needs help then he should take the medical car” hardly improved relations. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who leads Webber in the championship by 11 points and could clinch his third Formula One title if results go his way Sunday, was third fastest in the afternoon after an engine problem in the morning. However, Ferrari, which has been managing the Spaniard's engines carefully for months after early-season problems, were unconcerned and had planned anyway to change the unit before second practice. Alonso was 13th fastest in the morning with Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa 14th. Red Bull, with Vettel desperate to win after engine failure while leading in South Korea left the young German 25 points behind Alonso with two races remaining, looked very much the team to beat. Vettel's best time of one minute 11.968 seconds was 0.104 quicker than the best effort by Webber, who won last year's race at Interlagos. The difference between the two in the first session was nearly half a second. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, third in the championship challenge and 21 points behind Alonso, was third and fourth respectively. Teammate and world champion Jenson Button, the fifth driver still in mathematical contention but 42 points off the pace on his return to the track where he won the title with Brawn last year, was fourth and seventh.
