Sao Paulo  - Fernando Alonso was fastest in the final practice session ahead of qualifying later Saturday for Sunday's Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix.

The Renault driver clocked a time of 1 minute 12.141 seconds in for the 4.309-kilometres lap at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes was second fastest, 0.071 seconds slower than Alonso, with McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen third quickest.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Hamilton's world championship rival, was fourth quickest on the circuit.

Hamilton takes a seven-point lead over Massa into the season- ending race as he bids to become the youngest world champion in F1 history at the age of 23. He requires fifth place to secure the title if Massa wins the race.

Last year Hamilton also led by seven points but Kimi Raikkonen stole the title by winning in Brazil. (dpa)