Ferrari pair Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were next on the timesheets in P4 and P5 respectively, while Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-six positions for Sao Paulo GP stars Alpine despite encountering some traffic on his soft-shod run.
Haas put both their cars in the top half of the field thanks to Kevin Magnussen placing seventh and Nico Hulkenberg ninth, sandwiching the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri, as Yuki Tsunoda and RB rose from the foot of the FP1 timing screen to 10th.
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Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon wound up 11th and 12th in their Kick Sauber and Alpine machines, the former set for a five-place engine-related grid drop, slotting just ahead of Aston Martin pair Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
Liam Lawson was around half a second slower than team mate Tsunoda in 15th, with the red flag and cold, slippery conditions meaning drivers struggled to get optimal laps in, followed by the second Sauber of Zhou Guanyu.