Lewis Hamilton narrowly beat his Mercedes team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg to the fastest time in second practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British driver ended the session at the top of the timesheets with a 1m12.271, just 0.030 seconds clear of Rosberg – who will take the drivers’ title on Sunday if he wins the race.
Williams enjoyed a positive FP2, finishing third and fourth with Valtteri Bottas ahead of Felipe Massa.
Daniel Ricciardo was fifth, ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, who cut across Carlos Sainz Jr. when going into the pits, were next up, both seven tenths off the pace.
Nico Hulkenberg was the lead Force India in ninth, with Jenson Button remaining 10th despite his running being cut short with an issue.
Fernando Alonso was 11th, having set his best time earlier in the session before the vast majority of the field went out for their long runs.
The Spaniard’s session came to an end with a power unit problem mid-way through FP2, with Alonso being forced to stand and watch, before a cameraman gave up his deck chair and camera for the two-time world champion.
Daniil Kvyat and Sainz were 12th and 13th, with Sergio Perez, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Nasr next up.
It was an eventful session, with a few dramas, spins and lock-ups – including several off-track excursions for Marcus Ericsson, which cut short his session due to flat-spotted tyres.
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