Felipe Massa was fastest for Ferrari as Formula One's oldest team set the pace at the sport's newest circuit in practice for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix.
If the morning was a tale of Indian pride, stray dogs and Englishman Lewis Hamilton collecting a three place grid penalty for ignoring warning flags after setting the quickest lap, the afternoon ended a red letter day with a red car on top.
Massa's lap was the fastest yet in the heat and dust of the barely completed $US 450 million Buddh International layout, near Delhi, clocking a best time of one minute 25.706 seconds.
Double world champion Sebastian Vettel was second in both sessions on a day of huge significance for Indian motorsport but with very little importance in a championship whose titles have already been won by the German and his Red Bull team.
Fernando Alonso reinforced Ferrari's potential with the third fastest time in the second session after suffering a blown engine in the morning.
In keeping with the sense of history, teams hit the track for the first time with the colours of the national flag leading the way.