Confident BAR praises Davidson

The highly-impressive Briton, who has been one of the sensations of the season thanks to a string of ultra-fast laps in Friday practices, ended his season's work with another strong performance to set the fifth fastest time - sandwiched between fourth quickest Jenson Button and sixth placed Takuma Sato.

And although the team is focused on its fight with Renault to grab the runners-up spot in the title chase behind Ferrari, the team's leading figures made sure that everyone acknowledged the work Davidson has done this season.

Team boss David Richards said: "It is particularly pleasing that Anthony has ended his contribution to the season on a high note, yet again performing well at a circuit he has never experienced before. He has played a crucial part in our race development this year and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his unfailing focus and determination. As for the rest of this weekend, I'm confident that we have made a good first step towards achieving our objectives for the season finale."

Honda's Shuhei Nakamoto added: "A solid day - to have all three drivers in the top six is good. The times are very close once again so we will need strong performances from Jenson and Takuma tomorrow. I would like to thank Anthony as he has done a great job for us all year in the Friday sessions. I am pleased that he has shown once again how fast he can be, particularly at a track he has never visited."

The two races drivers said they were optimistic about their chances for a good result at Interlagos - where scoring three points between them will be enough to clinch second place in the constructors' championship.

"We achieved everything we planned in terms of tyre comparisons and set-up," said Button. "The circuit was very dirty this morning but it had cleaned up an awful lot by this afternoon, so we were able to achieve some good testing.

"The circuit is still pretty bumpy despite the resurfacing work they've done here - particularly at turns one and six. Generally I'm happy with the start we've made to the weekend and I look forward to us getting stronger as we continue working towards the race."