Webber buoyed by practice pace

The Australian - who dominated in Spain last year - was a second clear of the field in practice one and then edged out Lewis Hamilton by 0.039 seconds in the afternoon.

"One of our better Fridays actually," said Webber. "The car ran well, we got a lot of information.

"It's the first time we've been to Barcelona in these temperatures - in the winter when we were here it was much cooler so it was good to get both cars out there running around and getting the information we need until Sunday."

Asked if he felt his mood had been lifted by today's results, Webber replied: "Yes, it was a good day for us. I enjoyed driving the car with beautiful conditions and it was good to be in the car."

But he did not think his form today meant he was likely to dominate the weekend.

"We will have a good look at it tonight, the usual suspects will be there," said Webber.

"We will be towards the front with Ferrari and McLaren - it has been like that for the last two years and I don't think that will change for this weekend."

His team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who was second in the morning and third in the afternoon, is expecting the battle to be closer in Spain than at previous races.

"It seemed close, it is what we expected," he said. "We brought some stuff ourselves, we made a step forward but so did the others.

"You always hope that their updates don't work, but it is not working that way. I think it will be extremely tight and we will see tomorrow when everyone drops their fuel, and tries as hard as he can. We will see."