First and third in the Friday morning session and second and fourth in the following afternoon free practice for the Scuderia Ferrari duo. In both the 90 minutes of free practice, Felipe Massa was quicker than Kimi Raikkonen.

Renault's late season return to form will apparently continue this weekend, as Fernando Alonso posted the fastest time of the day in the afternoon yesterday, when the session was affected by light drizzle which made the track surface particularly slippery. This and the usual unknown factor of the different fuel loads, means the times are harder than usual to interpret. The two F2008s completed a total of 115 laps, 65 for Felipe and 50 for Kimi. Both drivers were happy with the way the car's dealt with this notoriously difficult anti-clockwise track.

In the afternoon, Jarno Trulli in the Toyota split the two Ferraris in third place, while Mark Webber was fifth in the Red Bull Renault ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso Ferrari. Although he was second fastest in the morning, Felipe's only rival for the Drivers' crown, Lewis Hamilton slipped to ninth in the afternoon, with his McLaren-Mercedes team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen down in fifteenth spot.

Meteo France, who supply a weather forecast to all teams are currently predicting a slim one in five chance of rain today with the chance of a repeat of yesterday's drizzle this morning. However, for race day, the chance moves up to three in five with "real risk of thundery showers in the afternoon." Once again, the weather could provide plenty of excitement on Sunday afternoon, with the added spice of the championship titles being up for grabs.

A good start for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro on the first day of practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix yesterday. Felipe Massa were among the quickest in both sessions and completed the day's programme without any problems. "I would say we can be satisfied with the work carried out today," commented the Team Principal of the Gestione Sportiva, Stefano Domenicali. "It was important to get off on the right foot on the weekend that will decide the outcome of both world titles. First impressions seem positive, even allowing for the fact that an accurate assessment of the results of Friday practice involves several unknown factors. Furthermore, the weather, with some occasional drizzle, added a additional variable. Now we will concentrate on being as well prepared as possible for the rest of the weekend."

Felipe Massa: "It might only be Friday, but it's important to get off to a good start on such an important weekend. We found a good set-up for the car, which seemed to be well balanced in both sessions. The track here offers a lot of grip and so, even with today's low temperatures, that was not a problem, especially given the tyres we have available to us here. My aim? To be in front of everyone, both tomorrow and on Sunday. Then we can do the maths when it's over. Racing at home, with the crowd on your side is a great motivation for me: it's a fantastic feeling, but difficult to put it into words."

Kimi Raikkonen: "It was a generally positive day for us, although it is still only Friday, which means it's too early to drawn any definite conclusions. We worked through our usual programme and tried various settings on the car. The only difficulty was linked to the weather, with the rain coming down occasionally. My aim? To do my own race and help the team reach its objectives and I know what I have to do for that to happen. It will be a tough race on Sunday and you never know what could happen: we have to be prepared for every eventuality."

Luca Baldisserri: "We have started this final round of the season in positive fashion. We got through our programme with both drivers, with no particular problems, which is always important. The F2008 seems to be competitive, both on the first timed lap and over a distance, on both types of tyre that Bridgestone has brought here. The only complication was the rain which, falling intermittently, sometimes complicated our work on track. Now we must prepare scrupulously and with great attention for qualifying and the race. The weather forecast is very uncertain, so we need to be ready to tackle changeable conditions, with all the unknowns that involves."

Free practice - First session

F. Massa: 1st 1.12.305 24 laps chassis 269
K. Raikkonen: 3rd 1.12.509 19 laps chassis 271
Weather: air 19/17 °C, track 21/20 °C. Overcast, some drizzle at times.

Free Practice - Second session

F. Massa: 2nd 1.12.353 41 laps chassis 269
K. Raikkonen: 4th 1.12.600 32 laps chassis 271
Weather: air 18/19 °C, track 20/21 °C. Overcast, some drizzle at times.