Alonso tops the times at Barcelona

Alonso remained in the car for his second day of running and set the best time just before the lunch break, using slick tyres. His 1:18.483 remained unbeaten throughout the afternoon session.

"The day has been good and I was happy with the developments to the car," he said. "We still need to keep improving because our competitors have also improved. It's difficult to say how we really compared with them."

He also spoke highly of the slick tyres after trying them for the first time today.

"It was fun to try the slicks, they gave very good grip."

Michael Schumacher again returned to the cockpit of a Formula One car and set the second fastest time of the day for Ferrari.

He spent the day sampling different types of Bridgestone slick tyres in a version of the F2008 that had been modified to simulate the level of downforce expected next season.

Adrian Sutil continued Force India's improved form with the third best time of the day, set on slicks using the 2008 aero package, after losing time in the morning with a clutch problem.

"It was the first time I'd tried slicks this year and I was really impressed," he said. "The grip is amazing but it's also very physical on your neck muscles."

Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Jarno Trulli, and Sebastien Bourdais all remained on grooved tyres throughout the day.

Scuderia Toro Rosso's day was cut short when Bourdais crashed heavily at Turn Nine, and Robert Kubica also hit the wall, at Turn Seven, late in the afternoon.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time     Laps
 1.  Alonso        Renault              (B)  1:18.483  100
 2.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari              (B)  1:19.323   83
 3.  Sutil         Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:19.424  102
 4.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:19.785  112
 5.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:19.841   65
 6.  Barrichello   Honda                (B)  1:19.920  141
 7.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:20.591  102
 8.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:20.715   71
 9.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:20.849   87
10.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  1:20.867   90

All Timing Unofficial