But on Saturday, during the final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, he returned.

The German blitzed his rivals’ best efforts with a sensational time of 1:14.280 to top the Saturday timesheets.

Kimi Raikkonen was also in impressive form with his time of 1:14.462 placing him in a comfortable second.

The Finn’s team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out a successful morning for McLaren with the third fastest time of 1:14.672.

Williams’ Mark Webber put technical troubles behind him to finish fourth with a 1:14.689.

In fifth and sixth were the Renault of pair of Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella who left many trackside confused.

Both men appeared to struggle for grip during the day’s second run with multiple off-track excursions.

In the end they had no answers to the pace of Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota, which finished a surprising seven tenths ahead.

Ralf’s pace left him as one of the favourites to claim Barcelona’s pole position while his team-mate Jarno Trulli, in a change of roles, finished in the anonymity of seventh place, eight tenths off the pace.

Tiago Monteiro ended Saturday morning on the sidelines after a series of the mistakes.

The Portuguese ace spun his Jordan at turn nine before stalling as he attempted to return to the circuit.