Saturday Second Free Practice - Canadian GP

World Champion Michael Schumacher benefited from a drying track to take over from his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello at the top of the timesheets in Saturday's final practice session before qualifying in Montreal.

German Schumacher, who trails Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the World Championship by four points ahead of Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix, finished 0.292 seconds ahead of Brazilian Barrichello as the rain abated and a dry line appeared.

His time of 1:23.385 put him an astonishing 1.855 seconds ahead of the closest non-Ferrari driver, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who claimed third for Jordan-Ford.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso finished, once again, as the fastest Michelin runner in the Renault with German Ralf Schumacher, of Williams-BMW, moving up the times to fifth in the latter part of the session.

A drying track allowed Michelin runners infiltrate the previously Bridgestone-dominated top ten with Scot David Coulthard, in the McLaren-Mercedes, splitting the BAR-Hondas of Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button in sixth and eighth.

Italian Jarno Trulli, in the second Michelin-shod Renault, was ninth and Australian Mark Webber, of Jaguar, finished tenth to make it Bridgestone five, Michelin five.

Reduced rain during the half-hour break between the first and second parts of the morning session meant the FIA stated that the teams could not use their extreme weather tyres in the second 45 minutes.

But as conditions eased several drivers were still caught out including Cristiano da Matta, in the Toyota, who caused the session to be stopped for two minutes after he crashed at turn seven.

Championship leader Raikkonen went off at turn six, and World Champion Schumacher spun his Ferrari at turn one but got away with it as he gently touched the barriers.

Schumacher controlled the pirouetting machine as he headed gently over the grass and was able to reverse back from the tyre barriers and continue on his way to top the times.

German Heinz-Harald Frentzen, of Sauber, suffered a disastrous time in the session and after damaging his car in the first part he stopped with a smoking engine in the second.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:23.385 188.278 km/h 42 2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:23.677 + 0.292 40 3. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:25.240 + 1.855 30 4. Alonso Renault (M) 1:25.382 + 1.997 41 5. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:25.668 + 2.283 32 6. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:25.704 + 2.319 37 7. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:25.839 + 2.454 37 8. Button BAR Honda (B) 1:25.902 + 2.517 39 9. Trulli Renault (M) 1:25.961 + 2.576 42 10. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:26.440 + 3.055 39 11. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:26.537 + 3.152 30 12. Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:26.690 + 3.305 38 13. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:26.771 + 3.386 41 14. Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:27.018 + 3.633 27 15. Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:27.145 + 3.760 40 16. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:28.225 + 4.840 32 17. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:28.246 + 4.861 28 18. Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:29.190 + 5.805 19 19. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:29.215 + 5.830 22 20. Panis Toyota (M) 1:30.410 + 7.025 16 All Timing Unofficial