Length: 4.627 km
Number of Laps: 66 (305.256 Km)
Best Lap: G. Fisichella - 1'15''641 (2005, Renault)
Record Pole: M. Schumacher - 1'15''022 (2004, Ferrari)
2005 Pole: K. Raikkonen - 1'16''602 (Mclaren)
2005 Podium: K. Raikkonen - F. Alonso - J. Trulli

With a best time of 1:16.533 Honda test driver Anthony Davidson topped the times, having completed a total of 38 laps around the Catalunya Circuit in an effort to find some of the pace that the RA106 has been lacking of late. Second fastest also went to a test driver as Robert Doornbos continues his impressive form in the Red Bull RB2, setting a 1:16.824 to shade Davidson by three tenths of a second.

Fastest of the race drivers, true to form, was Fernando Alonso, the home hero going round in 1:16.860 in the Renault R26, mere thousandths away from Doornbos, while Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, fresh from a controversial showing at the Nurburgring, finished in seventh place, less that half a second behind the World Champion.

Alexander Wurz continued to outline the outright speed of the Williams-Cosworth FW28 with fourth place on 1:17.075, just shading Christian Klien, a man whose imminent future in the Red Bull is threatened if recent media stories are to be believed.

Michael Schumacher, looking to make it three on the trot here in Spain, took sixth place with 1:17.100 during a session that saw the German tour around 21 times, and Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa had a similarly low-key hour, finishing in 17th position, a full second away from Schumacher’s time.

The Honda race duo of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello occupy the eighth and ninth positions on the time sheet, the Englishman ahead by a mere three thousandths of a second, while behind them come the Toyota pair, Ralf Schumacher heading Jarno Trulli, as has been the norm this season, by just one tenth.

In 12th and 13th places come another pairing, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, respectively, in the BMW-Saubers, the third car of Jacques Villeneuve, engine change undertaken, finishing in 16th position.

Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg endured another of what has become the trade-mark Williams low key sessions, the two race drivers seemingly holding back while Wurz takes the sister car to the front. Webber, in 14th, heads Rosberg by five places and three-tenths of a second.

McLaren have also settled for minimum exposure in practice sessions of late, Kimi Raikkonen, in 15th position, completing only four laps in total, and Juan Pablo Montoya, three places behind, a mere five circuits.

With David Coulthard in 20th place, far from a true indication of the pace of the Red Bull RB2 as shown by Klien and Doornbos, the last few places are made up of the usual gaggle of Toro Rossos, Midlands and Super Aguri’s.

For the record, the order behind Coulthard reads Neel Jani (Toro Rosso), Giorgio Mondini in the Midland, the two Toro Rosso race cars of Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi, Christian Albers in the second Midland M16, and finally Takuma Sato for Super Aguri, Tiago Monteiro for MF1, and Franck Montagny on his second outing for Super Aguri.

With the top twelve cars again covered by only a second at the end of the hour, we wait to see if final practice, tomorrow morning, can give us a clearer picture of what to expect in the following qualifying session.