On the stroke of 14:00 Coulthard exits his garage and heads down the pitlane. 24.6 at the end of the first sector, 32.3 at the second, the Scot looking clean and tidy. 1:36.297, the McLaren driver sets the benchmark, albeit slower than he went this morning.

Montoya begins his lap. 24.5 at the first split, 32.0 at the second split, it's looking good for the Colombian. 1:35.939, the WilliamsF1 driver quicker by 0.3s.

Kimi Raikkonen is on track, the Finn had limited track-time this morning. 24.7 at the first split after locking up at turn 1, 31.9s at the second, a good clean lap thus far. 1:36.038, the Finn goes second.

Michael Schumacher comes out in the 2002 Ferrari. 24.4 at the first split quickest so far, 31.5 at the second, still quickest. Over the line at 1:34.980, the German goes quickest by almost a full second.

Jarno Trulli is on track in the Renault, these cars looked great this morning. 24.9 at the first split, 32.1 at the second. 1:36.301 a disappointing fifth place for the Italian especially after the pace shown this morning. The Renault simply hasn't got the necessary top end 'grunt'.

At the first 'break', it's Schumacher, Montoya, Raikkonen, Coulthard and Trulli.

Next out is Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Sauber. 24.8 at the first split for the German. 32.4 at the second split as the Sauber driver loses his early impetus. Over the line at 1:36.615 a disappointing sixth place for the German after a fairly good first sector.

The second Renault driver Fernando Alonso is on track next. 25.0 at the first split, 31.8 at the second, a nice clean lap from the Spaniard. 1:36.693 over the line, he loses a lot of time in the last sector, and finishes a very disappointing seventh, out of seven thus far.

24.9 at the first split for Ralf Schumacher, already slower than his team-mate Montoya. 32.1 at the second split as the German makes up time. Over the line at 1:36.805 to go behind Alonso. Clearly drivers are losing time in the final sector.

Jacques Villeneuve is on track. 25 at the first split, 32 at the second split but then the Canadian gets it all wrong and consequently crosses the line in 1:38.585. The BAR star will be very unhappy with that effort.

Now it's his team-mate, Jenson Button. 24.9 at the first split, 32.2 at the second. It's a clean lap, no fireworks, but he's over the line to go seventh with a 1:36.632.

At the second 'break' it's: Schumacher, Montoya, Raikkonen, Coulthard, Trulli, Frentzen, Button, Alonso, Ralf & Villeneuve.

Next up is Jos 'the boss' Verstappen in the Minardi. The Dutchman completes the first sector in 25.3 and the second at 33.3. 1:38.904 the Dutchman is eleventh, out of eleven, but he gives it 100%, as ever.

Giancarlo Fisichella is next out in the Jordan-Ford. 24.9 at the first split, 32.1 at the second, he's lost time after a good first sector. Over the line at 1:36.759, the Roman goes ninth sandwiched by Alonso and Ralf.

The last of the Melbourne finishers Antonio Pizzonia, takes to the track in the Jaguar, however the team's problems continue as fails to exit pits and fails to post a time, his day over before it's even begun. It seems that the Brazilian simply couldn't start his car and subsequently missed his 'slot'.

Olivier Panis is next out. 24.9 at the first split for the Frenchman. 32.4 at the second split, the Toyota driver has lost time. 1:36.995, Olivier goes eleventh.

The second Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld is on track, 24.6 at the first split, 32.1 at the second. The German goes sixth with an impressive 1:36.407, leap-frogging his highly experienced team-mate.

At the third, and final 'break' the order is: Michael, Montoya, Raikkonen, Coulthard, Trulli, Heidfeld, Frentzen, Button, Alonso and Fisichella.

Five drivers to go, Justin Wilson, Mark Webber, Cristiano da Matta, Ralph Firman and Rubens Barrichello.

Minardi's Justin Wilson is on track. 25.3 at the first split, matching his team-mate Verstappen. 33.5 at the second split, he's lost time. Over the line at 1:39.354, fifteenth of the fifteen drivers that have posted a time.

Mark Webber is next out, the Jaguars have had a torrid time thus far this weekend. 25.1 at the first split, 32.5 at the second, not that impressive so far. 1:37.669, the Australian leapfrogs the two Minardis as Jaguars as the Milton Keynes' team bad luck continues.

25 at the first split for Cristiano da Matta in the Toyota. 32.3 at the second split, slower than his team-mate Panis. 1:36.706, an impressive final two sectors for the Brazilian to go tenth. Great stuff from the CART champ who has had minimal running today and has never been to Sepang before.

Ralph Firman is next out in the Jordan. 25.2 at the first split, 32.7 at the second, a good clean lap. The last couple of corners are 'messy' resulting in a 1:38.240, he goes sixteenth.

Rubens Barrichello is last out. 24.5 at the first split, it looks good for the second Ferrari driver. 31.9 at the second split, he's lost ground but still looks good. Over the line at 1:35.681 to go second, another Ferrari 1-2, albeit this doesn't count for the grid.

Michael, Barrichello, Montoya, Raikkonen, Coulthard, Trulli, Heidfeld, Frentzen, Button and Alonso.

An interesting session indicating that it's business as usual for Ferrari and McLaren while Sauber continues its good form. Trulli looking good in the Renault and of course Montoya in the WilliamsF1, while Button and da Matta also deserve a special mention.

Disappointing that the Jordans didn't continue the good form shown this morning while the Jaguars are having a torrid time.