Carlos Sainz topped the times for Ferrari ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc in Friday’s sole practice session for this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The Spaniard, who won the Singapore Grand Prix in September to hand Red Bull their only defeat this season, clocked a best lap in one minute and 11.732, a tenth faster than Leclerc and George Russell who was third for Mercedes.
They were among a small group of drivers to show a glimpse of their true pace on soft tyres while most of the field stayed on hards and concentrated on long runs ahead of Sunday’s race.
As a result, newly crowned three-time champion Max Verstappen wound up 16th for Red Bull with teammate Sergio Perez 18th and the highly rated McLaren pair, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, filling the 19th and 20th places.
Behind Russell, Nico Hulkenberg was fourth for Haas ahead of Williams Alex Albon, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and Zhou Guanyu of Alpine.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was 12th for Mercedes, using the session to prepare a race set-up on hard tyres.
The air temperature was 31 degrees Celsius at Interlagos as Verstappen, chasing a record-extending 17th win of the season, set the pace with an early lap in 1:13.950 before telling his crew: "I think my seat is flexing".
After a further complaint, the team told him to sit tight until he had completed his first run.
The action came after the event had secured a new five-year contract confirming its place on the F1 calendar until 2030 – good news for traditionalists who regard the ‘old school’ circuit as one of the most thrilling and atmospheric.
After 22 minutes, with the track quiet as most teams fine-tuned their set-ups in the only practice session of the 'sprint race' weekend, Yuki Tsunoda jumped to the top of the times in 1:12.802, three-tenths better than the champion’s most recent improved lap, all times clocked on hard tyres.
With half an hour to go, the teams began to switch from hard tyres to softs and immediately Russell clocked 1:11.865 for Mercedes ahead of Alonso, still on hards, and Verstappen.
Logan Sargeant appeared to have problems when he slewed across the run-off at the Senna 'S' with only three wheels touching the track. "Back off, back off, we can see an issue," Williams informed him as his teammate Alex Albon rose to third.
Mercedes came into the weekend with some new-found confidence after Hamilton's two strong race showings.
With five minutes remaining, and Red Bull still running hards, Ferrari switched to softs and Sainz promptly jumped from 19th to top in 1:11.732, followed by Leclerc taking second, proof that the Italian team remain strong for qualifying.