By Matt Beer Friday, October 19th 2007, 13:33 GMT
Kimi Raikkonen led a Ferrari one-two in the damp opening practice session at Interlagos, with Lewis Hamilton taking fifth and Fernando Alonso choosing not to participate.
Drizzle fell throughout the session, occasionally increasing to a heavier rain shower and ensuring that a dry line never appeared.
The title contenders sat out most of the morning, allowing Kazuki Nakajima, Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Nico Rosberg to all take turns on top as the weather fluctuated.
The Ferraris eventually emerged in the final 15 minutes and swiftly moved into first and second. Felipe Massa was the faster of the pair initially, before Raikkonen moved ahead by half a second with his last lap.
Hamilton made two comparatively tentative runs near the end of the morning, eventually taking fifth position. But his McLaren teammate Alonso decided to limit himself to an installation lap, as did the BMW pair and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Heikki Kovalainen ultimately took third for Renault, 1.2 seconds off the pace and just ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton.
Schumacher was sixth despite a quick spin late on, with Vettel moving back up to seventh near the end having been pushed back into the midfield as others improved.
Mark Webber, Trulli and Vitantonio Liuzzi completed the top ten.
Despite the treacherous conditions, there were few incidents. Along with Schumacher's spin, Sakon Yamamoto also had a quick trip off the road, while Adrian Sutil explored the run-off at the Senna S on two consecutive laps during one of the harder showers.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:19.580 9
2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:20.062 10
3. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:20.829 19
4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.064 14
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.121 10
6. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:21.243 22
7. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:21.598 22
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.104 12
9. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.104 26
10. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.250 17
11. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:22.434 23
12. Button Honda (B) 1:22.477 22
13. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.667 16
14. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:22.929 19
15. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.248 30
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:23.261 26
17. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.551 20
18. Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:24.366 25
19. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1
20. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1
21. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1
22. Fisichella Renault (B) 2
All timing unofficial