Free practice 1: Schuey sets the pace

Predictions that Ferrari will be on top this weekend appear to be correct so far. Schumacher's team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, was second fastest, neither Williams driver showed their hand, with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya back in 12th and 15th.

The session was barely 10 seconds old when Takuma Sato hit trouble. As the Japanese driver pulled out of the pitlane to begin his installation lap the Jordan suddenly died. With no spare cars allowed, Sato was forced to watch the rest of the session from the sidelines. Coming on the back of the team's decision to shed 15 percent of its workforce, it was the worst possible start to the weekend for Jordan, although Giancarlo Fisichella set the ninth best time to restore some cheer.

As usual the first driver to record a flying lap on Friday morning was Alex Yoong. After failing to qualifying at Imola the Malaysian seemed more aggressive that usual, attacking the kerbs with unexpected verve. However, a gap of just over a second to team-mate Mark Webber and two offs at Turn 10 was his reward.

Conditions in Barcelona are expected to favour Bridgestone this weekend, and with track temperatures hovering around the 20 degrees Celsius mark this was certainly true of first free practice. Aside from the expected Ferrari one-two, five other Bridgestone runners made it into the top 10, with the ragged, but fast Felipe Massa the best of these in third.

Despite a quick spin at Repsol, Heinz-Harald Frentzen was an encouraging sixth quickest for Arrows, while team-mate Enrique Bernoldi rounded out the top 10. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest of the Michelin runners. The MP4-17 was one of the quickest cars in a straight line, but the rear wing sacrificed in order to reduce drag made it a very nervous-looking beast. David Coulthard was just a few tenths down on the Finn in seventh.

Renault's Jarno Trulli was in the thick of the top 10 in fifth, but Jenson Button was back in 11th. As expected the Jaguars struggled at a track where aerodynamic performance is at a premium and Eddie Irvine was 18th, while local hero Pedro de la Rosa took 16th place.

For full practice session 1 results, click here.