The proof was in the Briton’s pace during the second session when he recorded an impressive time of 1:20.058 to end the morning on top.

Fernando Alonso finished second fastest with an equally impressive 1:20.114.

The Spaniard has only completed 12 laps of the Imola circuit this weekend but is still right on the pace of his rivals.

McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen finished third fastest with a time of 1:20.209.

The weekend’s final practice session, unlike the day’s earlier one, was an exciting affair with the top drivers all trading fastest times.

Schumacher had again dominated the first half before Raikkonen and his team-mate Alex Wurz started a shootout.

It was ultimately Button that won but representatives of Toyota, Red Bull and Sauber also fielded completive times.

By the time the chequered flag waved the top ten were separated by less than half a second laying the foundations for an interesting qualifying battle during the afternoon.

Tiago Monteiro spun out of Saturday’s second practice session.

The Portuguese ace dumped his Jordan in the gravel in the second sector and was unable to recover.

Minardi weren’t seen during the second 45-minute run.

Both Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers were confined to the garage for the entire session.