Warm-up: Schumacher still top dog

The reigning world champion, who is seeking his seventh straight win from pole, set a fastest time of 1m15.971s on full tanks and old tyres around Interlagos - the only man to get below the 1m16s barrier.

His team mate Rubens Barrichello made it a Ferrari one-two, banging in a 1m16.145s lap at the very end of the session, with Mika Hakkinen the first of the McLarens in third.

Ralf Schumacher, who lines up alongside his older brother on the front row for this afternoon's race, was fourth overall and fastest of the Michelin runners, but his Williams-BMW team mate Juan Pablo Montoya was down in eighth after missing the bulk of the 30-minute session.

The Honda-powered teams look strong in race trim, with Jarno Trulli fifth for Jordan-Honda and Olivier Panis seventh for BAR-Honda, just behind David Coulthard in the second of the McLarens.

Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen continued to perform strongly in their Ferrari-engined Saubers, sandwiching Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Jordan-Honda in ninth and 11th respectively, with Jacques Villeneuve 12th for BAR-Honda.

Jaguar finished the session 13th and 14th - seemingly according to form - while Benetton-Renault's duo were 20th and 22nd - seemingly according to form... - with Giancarlo Fisichella the least unhappy of the pair in that 20th slot.

Forecasts say this afternoon's race will be run in the hottest conditions of the weekend so far, with air temperatures in the high 20s and track temperatures tipped to reach 40 degrees C. With those temperatures added to the bumps, high-speed corners and abrasive surface of the Brazilian track, it will be a gruelling race for drivers and tyres alike.

For complete morning warm-up times, click here.