McLaren-Mercedes man Pedro de la Rosa took the spoils (time 1:14.662s) just ahead of his Toyota rival Ricardo Zonta (1:14.858), the times almost two seconds quicker than managed in the earlier session today.

Behind them a battle royal took place, with the next four places occupied by Renault and McLaren drivers.

Championship leader Fernando Alonso (Renault -1:15.376s) shaded a revitalised Juan Pablo Montoya (1:15.625s), the Colombian McLaren pilot just quicker than team mate Kimi Raikkonen (1:15.679).

Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), winner of the season opener in Australia, finished sixth on 1:15.846s.

In seventh and eighth place, Jenson Button and Takuma Sato looked comfortable in the BAR-Hondas, while the Toyotas of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli finished ninth and 11th.

Ferrari still appear to be struggling, with Rubens Barrichello 10th and World Champion Michael Schumacher a lowly 16th, almost three seconds off the fastest time.

Local boy Jacques Villeneuve mixed it with Sauber team-mate Felipe Massa, the two finishing 13th and 14th respectively, with the Williams-BMWs of Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld an uneventful 12th and 15th.

Red Bull Racing had David Coulthard a lacklustre 17th, the returning Christian Klien 18th, and rookie American Scott Speed last, the latter having performed creditably before spinning and bringing out the yellow flags.

In the back of the grid battle, Patrick Freisacher put the Minardi ahead of both his team mate Cristijan Albers, and the Jordans of Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro.