The Spaniard was nearly nine seconds off Pedro de la Rosa’s Friday pace when he clocked the top time of Saturday morning at 1:23.939.

Alonso was followed by Renault F1 team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, who was nearly a full second adrift (1:24.922).

Kimi Raikkonen, who is running a brand new Mercedes-Benz engine after his expired Friday afternoon, set the third best time at 1:26.483.

Williams had both drivers go out and set a time during the 45 minute session. Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld finished in sixth and seventh place.

The drivers were hindered with the low ambient and circuit temperature of 19 degrees which did not give them sufficient enough tyre grip to set a real competitive time.