The McLaren reserve obliterated the opposition with a time of 1:21.411 – some one and a half seconds quicker than the second placed Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello.

However, the extra revs and tyres available to the Austrian are a distinct advantage so, despite the pace, the field were unconcerned.

McLaren's true form was to be demonstrated by Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya who were both swamped by the Hungary field.

The pair looked like they would round out a McLaren one-two-three with just two minutes remaining in the session.

Barrichello and Jenson Button (BAR) had different ideas though as they both posted strong final times to push Raikkonen back to fourth.

Montoya fell even further with Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), Felipe Massa (Sauber), and Nick Heidfeld (Williams) all getting the better of the Colombian.

The circuit itself got the better of Chanoch Nissany (Minardi) and Nicolas Kiesa (Jordan).

Both men spun off the circuit and into the gravel through the sector – a position from which they wouldn’t return.

The off was all the more painful for Nissany who became the first Israeli to participate in a Formula One event.

His mistake aside, the 42-year-old also struggled whilst on the track and finished some 13 seconds down on the Wurz benchmark.

Red Bull Racing's race pair David Coulthard and Christian Klien were the only drivers not to complete a time.