Length: 5.418 km
Number of Laps: 60 (308.863 Km)
Best Lap: M. Schumacher - 1'29''468 (2004, Ferrari)
Record Pole: M. Schumacher - 1'28''351 (2004, Ferrari)
2005 Pole: N. Heidfeld - 1'30''081 (Williams)
2005 Podium: F. Alonso - N. Heidfeld - R. Barrichello

Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher sat together at the top of the time sheet for most of the second half of the session, separated only by a matter of a few hundredths of a second. Behind these two a further twelve cars were within a second of the fastest time set by Alonso, but a second further behind the fastest man of the session, Alexander Wurz.

In the dying seconds, as is his custom, Wurz took the Williams-Cosworth FW28 around in 1:32.675, just shy of a second quicker than Alonso, reinforcing the view of many that this is a man deserving of a race seat. The result will please Williams, whose race drivers Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber, while completing more laps than has been the norm of late, posted 11th and 16th fastest.

In a fine fourth comes Robert Doornbos, the Red Bull-Ferrari ‘Friday’ man shading Anthony Davidson by matter of a few thousandths, the Honda test driver just ahead, by a similar amount, of the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher.

Ralf’s team mate, Jarno Trulli, continues to shoulder the problems in the Cologne outfit, being the only driver not to set a time this session.

Jenson Button took seventh place, Honda team mate Rubens Barrichello back in 15th and half a second of Buttons pace, with Giancarlo Fisichella a lacklustre ninth in the second Renault.

The surprise of the session, however, was the pace of the Midland M16. having promised improvements last time out, a race where Christijan Albers felt he could have performed well but for the race-ending accident with Yuji Ide, the team began to make real progress here, with young Adrian Sutil a very fine 10th fastest, Albers 12th and Monteiro in 25th having endured a raft of problems. This represents a very impressive jump in pace, as behind Sutil and Albers are both Williams race drivers and, most startlingly, both McLarens.

Mclaren either have something up their sleeve and are keeping it for tomorrow, or are hopelessly off the pace. Kimi Raikkonen in 13th and Juan Pablo Montoya in 17th are hardly the positions one would expect to see a team who claim to be fighting for the World Titles. Tomorrow may tell a different story.

Likewise for BMW-Sauber, whose race drivers Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve, while languishing in 20th and 24th positions, can take solace in the fact that Robert Kubica again performed admirably to record the eighth fastest time, just behind Jenson Button.

Christian Klien and David Coulthard had a low key session, leaving Doornbos to do the bulk of the running, and finished in 18th and 19th positions, while Tonio Liuzzi, Neel Jani and Scott Speed made 21st to 23rd something of a Toro Rosso benefit.

The two Super Aguris of Takuma Sato and Franck Montagny bring up the rear, the Frenchman on the pace of his experienced team mate on his debut run for the team.