The Renault ace had led for most of the session, but found himself shuffled back to third at the end thanks to Coulthard's impressive 1m02.039s lap, and a late charge from Jaguar's Mark Webber.

Whilst McLaren will be pleased with the pace of the Scot, the relative form of Kimi Raikkonen will give the team some cause for concern. The Finn was just 14th fastest, with his quickest time 1.368s slower than his team-mates best.

Rubnes Barrichello was fourth fastest for Ferrari, following a troubled session for the Italian team. The Brazilian ended his running early when the engine in his F2003-GA blew with just under ten minutes of the session to go. Michael Schumacher could only manage the ninth quickest time.

Olivier Panis was a strong fifth fastest for Toyota, ahead of the second Renault of Jarno Trulli, and local favourite Jenson Button (BAR). Antonio Pizzonia was eighth fastest in his Jaguar.

After dominating the last two races, Williams had a disappointing session, with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya just 11th and 12th fastest respectively.

Ralph Firman was 17th fastest, although he was only 0.107s slower than team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella. Justin Wilson had another troubled session, completing just 9 laps for Minardi.