This put him almost half a second ahead of Jenson Button, the Briton continuing to prove the BAR-Honda as second-best car this weekend with 1:26.599s.

An eventful final practice session for the Turkish Grand Prix saw McLaren continue as the team to beat as Juan Pablo Montoya backed up his team-mate with 1:26.748s for fourth place, just behind Fernando Alonso, the fastest Renault with 1:26.627s.

These were the only four drivers to dip into the 1:26's this session, the next best men, Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), Takuma Sato (BAR) and Mark Webber (Williams) who had a costly spin across a gravel trap, all posting times in the low 1:27 sector.

Toyota appear to be struggling for pace here in Turkey with Ralf Schumacher eighth and Jarno Trulli 12th, but that was nothing compared to the trouble at World Champion team Ferrari.

Michael Schumacher had yet another spin on his way to a dismal 14th place, a full two seconds away from the front runners, while Rubens Barrichello fared no better in the second Maranello machine and could only manage 16th, just two-tenths of a second faster than the Jordan of Tiago Monteiro.

Ferrari incumbent Felipe Massa endured a torrid time in his Sauber with a spin that damaged his car, and Narain Karthikeyan will need an engine change prior to qualifying his Jordan.