Ferrari's Bridgestone dilemma

In the afternoon hour, in cooler conditions, the BAR-Honda team was comfortably the fastest as Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson dominated the timesheets. Rubens Barrichello and Schumacher were a distant sixth and seventh, nearly a second slower than their pace in the morning.

"Obviously, we spent today preparing for the race." said the team's technical director Ross Brawn. "First impressions are that one type of tyre is quicker on the first lap, while the second type offers more consistent performance over a longer run. Now we have to study the data very carefully to make the right choice.

"We know how important it is to qualify well here where overtaking is very difficult. Starting from the front means you run less risk of being stuck behind a slower car."

Schumacher had little to report after the session decribing his day's work as "a standard Friday in Barcelona". Barrichello meanwhile is still searching for a way to unlock the F2004 in the manner that his team-mate has. "Having done so much mileage here over the past months we have a good starting point for our set-up and today we made further steps forward," said the Brazilian. "I think we still have much to do to get the most out of the package and I think we will be very competitive tomorrow."