Practice 4: Jenson again

The track appeared to be very 'green' in the opening session, but as more and more rubber went down, the times tumbled. Friday pacesetter Kimi Raikkonen was the first man to break into the 1m29s, the Finn achieving 1m29.585s, and this was backed up by team-mate David Coulthard, giving us the rare sight of a McLaren 1-2.

It didn't last long, of course. M Schumacher rattled off the fastest time of the weekend so far, a 1m29.331s following some lengthy rear suspension tweaks, a time which was all but matched by Raikkonen on 1m29.354s.

That was nothing. Along came Button, who moved the goalposts with his stunning 1m28.827s - at the time half a second clear of everyone. Schumacher responded, but fell 0.237s short with his 1m29.064s effort.

BAR team chief David Richards was left feeling upbeat about the chances of a second BAR pole: "The times are close, but I feel we've got very good speed over a lap. I expect us to be strong in qualifying. The engine is good, we're using more revs than yesterday, and the tyres are exceptional."

His confidence was underlined by Takuma Sato, who set the third quickest time despite the distraction of a warning flag for a detached bargeboard that was lying on the track after Mark Webber got a little too greedy with the kerbs at the chicane. Sato, who set the fastest first sector, was exactly three-tenths slower than his team-mate, and could be a real candidate for pole this afternoon.

Raikkonen slipped to fourth, half a second off the pace, but at least McLaren appears to making progress. Rubens Barrichello was a subdued fifth in the second Ferrari, just ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's David Coulthard.

It was a bad session for Williams. Ralf Schumacher was only eighth fastest, while Juan Pablo Montoya was in a world of woe and failed to complete a flying lap. He did, however, manage to have a sizeable spin at the RTL Kurve, and he's fortunate that the gravel run-off which was there has been changed to asphalt since last year. His sector times added up to a 1m31.1s, which would have placed him 15th, and his body language in the pit lane gave away his distress about the situation.

Toyota duo Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta rounded out the top 10, a timely boost given that the team is based in nearby Cologne. Giancarlo Fisichella (Sauber) and Mark Webber (Jaguar) were next up, although both will be penalised in qualifying this afternoon for indiscretions yesterday.

Monaco winner Jarno Trulli has come down to earth with a bump at the Nurburgring, and could only manage the 13th fastest time, a whole 2.1secs away from the man who chased him home in Monte Carlo. What a difference a week can make...

The tailenders comprised Christian Klien, Massa, Nick Heidfeld, Zsolt Baumgartner, Gianmaria Bruni, a troubled Giorgio Pantano, and not forgetting the despondent Montoya.