BAR expects form to continue

Button, who has finished third in the last two races and is fast becoming Ferrari's main threat, was backed up by team-mate Takuma Sato who was second quickest in session two to make it a BAR clean sweep.

"I'm very pleased with today's sessions because it's where we felt we could be coming into this weekend," said Button. "Having said that, it's still only practice rather than qualifying, so I don't want to make any predictions about the race result just yet.

"I do however expect us to be quick in qualifying. We've had a good step forward here from the team, Honda and Michelin, and it's great to see the progress we're making together. I had a very good couple of tests ahead of this race and the reliability we're experiencing during testing is paying off when we get to races."

Sato was equally buoyant over his performance: "Today has been a very good day for myself and the team. I have been able to do lots of laps with no problems whatsoever, so we have made very good progress.

"I didn't get the chance to do my pre-Imola preparation in Paul Ricard last week because of the weather and we haven't tested here in Imola like some of the other teams. This is a challenging circuit so I'm pleased to see the result today. We still have a lot of work to do for tomorrow, but so far so good."

The team's test driver Anthony Davidson had another good day and once again the Englishman found himself buried deep in Friday's top ten. "I've had another good day today in terms of running time, completing nearly a race distance," said Davidson. "There was more to come from the car because I was often in traffic and I had a lot of brake wear, which hindered the last two runs."

BAR team principal David Richards believes there is more to come. "e are completely focused on pushing ourselves to the limit in every area and I am confident that by maintaining this pressure the results will come to the team," he said.

"It is satisfying to have all three drivers in the top six; and this really reflects the tremendous teamwork that has become our core strength. Since Bahrain everyone in the team has continued to work flat out, with Honda and Michelin, in order to maintain the momentum of the first three races."