The McLaren tester’s time of 1:15.062, set on a low-fuel last-minute run, ousted Toyota’s Ricardo Zonta who had impressively held on to P1 since his opening run.

The Brazilian had no answers to his rivals pace, finishing over one second down with a time of 1:16.220.

Nick Heidfeld (1:16.527) was again surprisingly competitive in the BMW Williams FW27.

The German finished third quickest, and fastest of the race drivers, after setting a solid pace over several high-fuel runs.

But with an engine replacement immanent, trackside gossip suggested that the unit had been rev-boosted, explaining the team’s jump in performance.

McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen (1:16.586) was fourth fastest, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli (1:16.653) fifth.

Red Bull Racing’s David Coultahrd (1:16.797) finished an impressive sixth, ahead of Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella (1:17.200) and Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher (1:17.264).

Local hero and victory favourite Fernando Alonso (1:17.356) could only manage the ninth fastest time.

McLaren’s Juan Pablo Montoya (1:17.555) finished tenth despite being dogged by more rumours regarding his injury.

The latest word in the Spanish paddock was that the Colombian was ordered to stay home by his wife so he could whiteness the birth of their child, a report that he flatly rejected.

Unfortunately he could have aggravated that injury after crashing his McLaren into the tyre barriers at the New Holland corner.

The rear of the car was completely ripped off under the force of the incident and will have to go under heavy repairs.

Montoya was seen checking the fitness of his shoulders after the shunt.

The Minardi PS05 is Formula One’s fastest racer.

Aided by the powerful Cosworth engine, Patrick Friesacher and Chrisitjan Albers recorded the top speeds down Circuit de Catalunya’s main straight.

But despite speed boost, the pair could only manage the 21st and 20th fastest times respectively.

The Circuit de Catalunya during the session had a few short power outages that wrecked havoc with the television feeds.