Free Practice 1: New Ferrari fastest

Ominously for the opposition that was the Williams-BMW of Ralf Schumacher. In recent years it has been common for Sir Frank's team to run 'heavy' on Fridays, progressively taking fuel out as the weekend progresses. With team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya also in the top 10 in ninth spot, the portents are looking good for the blue and white cars.

The session began with the two yellow Jordans taking to the track. Takuma Sato spun later in the session, but held eighth position, while team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella was an unlikely third fastest.

The 'green' surface at Interlagos meant that there were plenty of spinners during the opening hour-long session, including both Ferraris and both McLarens. When Kimi Raikkonen lost his MP4-17 in the Senna S the unfortunate Finn also stalled and with his car in the middle of the track on the exit of a blind corner the session was red flag to allow the marshals to remove it.

Rubens Barrichello enjoyed the sort of bad luck he must be getting used to at his home track, suffering a puncture on the first lap of his opening run and then stalling after a spin at Turn Eight next time out. This left him without a competitive time and at the foot of the timesheets.

It was a good session for Sauber and Arrows with both teams getting two cars in the top 10. Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa were fourth and fifth quickest, while Enrique Bernoldi was a career-best sixth fastest. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was 10th.

Jenson Button was once again quicker than Jarno Trulli. The Renault drivers were seventh and 12th respectively. David Coulthard spun at the penultimate corner but kept it out of the gravel and set the 11th best time. Eddie Irvine was 18th and Jaguar continues to struggle.

For full results, click here.