A massive crowd turned out to watch the event as Trulli fought the local hero and his former team-mate, Fernando Alonso, for the honours.

In the end Trulli prevailed, Alonso, despite having an advantage of two tenths after two sectors, crossed the line a hundredth short and in second position.

But while the mini-milestone saw Toyota celebrate, the fight is still very much alive.

Behind the leading duo two more men were within a tenth of the benchmark time - McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen and the second Toyota of Ralf Schumacher.

Williams Mark Webber, sixth, also remained an outside chance after finishing the session just two tenths shy.

Surprisingly Ferrari’s hopes appear to be already dashed with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello failing to mount a challenge.

The Italian-based pair finished in sixth and ninth respectively, and at over half a second off the pace, would need a miracle to claim pole.

For Nick Heidfeld, not even a miracle could deliver a front row start.

The German finished Saturday an impressive fifth fastest but an engine change means that he will be docked ten positions on his final result.

His disappointment will be shared by Jacques Villeneuve who, despite facing no penalty, struggled during the opening runs.

The French-Canadian looked to have finally settled in at Sauber after a strong run at the San Marino GP.

But in Barcelona he could hardly get within a second of his team-mate Felipe Massa’s time, finishing in a lowly 14th position.

Juan Pablo Montoya was also less than pleased.

After missing the last event, Montoya was faced with the disadvantage of running first.

While his team-mate Raikkonen was able to overcome the problems of an early slot, Montoya couldn’t and finished over a second off the benchmark time in 12th.