Length: 5.338 km
Number of Laps: 58 (309.356 Km)
Best Lap: JP. Montoya - 1'24''770 (2005, Mclaren)
Record Pole: K. Raikkonen - 1'19''146 (2005, Mclaren)
2005 Pole: K. Raikkonen - 1'26''797 (Mclaren)
2005 Podium: K. Raikkonen - F. Alonso - JP. Montoya

For much if the session it was Alonso and Michael Schumacher who topped the time sheets, the German ahead of his Spanish rival for the greater part, but the usual final five minute flurry of activity looked to add to the mix with Felipe Massa, for Ferrari, Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Renault and both McLarens of Pedro de la Rosa and Kimi Raikkonen taking to the track in anger. Add in the BMW-Sauber pair of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, plus the Honda's and the Toyota's, and the scrabble for top time looked to be frantic.

Indeed, with less than two minutes to go it looked as though Hungary victor Jenson Button had the Honda wound up to the full; the RA106 has looked fast all weekend here, and Jenson too. It was not to be, however, as suddenly Schumacher took the Ferrari around in a scintillating 1:27.204, surely unbeatable.

It proved so, too, Michael calmly cruising back to the pits with a safe seven tenths of a second margin over his title rival Alonso.

In third came Fisichella with a time just a few thousandths shy of Alonso's, the Italian looking in good shape this weekend after some poor runs of late, while fourth and fifth, and on the pace, were the two BMW-Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, the young Pole just one thousandth behind the Renault, and a couple of tenths up on his vastly more experienced team mate.

Button settled for sixth with team mate Rubens Barrichello on a similar time in eighth, the two white cars sandwiching the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa, and the top ten was completed by Kimi Raikkonen and Christian Klien, in the faster McLaren and Red Bull respectively. Team mates Pedro de la Rosa, for McLaren, and David Coulthard set 13th and 16th best times.

Toyota came here confident of improvement, as they have so many times before, but could only manage 11th and 17th for Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher, while Scott Speed did an impressive job to put the V10 engined Toro Rosso in 12th position comfortably ahead of team mate Tonio Liuzzi who finished 18th.

Williams’s woes continue unabated, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg taking 15th and 16th, with Midland and Super Aguri bringing up the rear.

The focus now moves to qualifying later today, and with the Ferrari showing such pace it is looking difficult to bet against a Schumacher pole. However, Kimi Raikkonen, looking for a hat trick and with nothing to lose, may decide otherwise.