Saturday Second Free Practice - Spanish GP

BAR-Honda sent a pre-qualifying warning to World Champions Ferrari in Barcelona on Saturday when Japanese driver Takuma Sato set the fastest lap of the weekend so far to top the final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Sato, who struggled on Friday as teammate Jenson Button traded times with Michael Schumacher at the front, set a time of 1:14.836 to beat the German Ferrari driver by 0.189 seconds.

Button finished down in sixth after Colombian Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya claimed third, Italian Jarno Trulli, of Renault, finished fourth and the second Ferrari of Brazilian Rubens Barrichello ended up fifth.

David Coulthard was seventh, the last man within a second of Sato, and local hope Fernando Alonso, of Renault, Australian Jaguar driver Mark Webber and Brazilian Cristiano da Matta, of Toyota, completed the top ten.

Giorgio Pantano spun his Jordan 20 minutes into the session but recovered after losing control at turn 10. Olivier Panis, however, was forced to park his Toyota at the side of the track with a problem that ended his morning's running.

With 15 minutes of the session to go the timesheets had an unfamiliar appearance with Kimi Raikkonen leading David Coulthard in a McLaren-Mercedes one-two with Schumacher down in third.

Mark Webber, who failed to set a time in the first morning session, then moved to the top with a time that was almost 1.3 seconds faster than his previous best of the weekend set in Friday's second session.

But he was soon bumped down the order when first Button went two tenths faster and then Schumacher obliterated both with a lap 0.602 seconds ahead of his BAR-Honda rival.

Montoya then bumped Button down to third but it was Sato who toppled Schumacher and, in doing so, became the first driver to complete a lap below the one minute and 15-seconds barrier.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 1:14.836 13 2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:15.025 + 0.189 11 3. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 1:15.232 + 0.396 13 4. Trulli Renault (M) 1:15.457 + 0.621 15 5. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:15.540 + 0.704 12 6. Button BAR-Honda (M) 1:15.627 + 0.791 11 7. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:15.768 + 0.932 13 8. Alonso Renault (M) 1:15.874 + 1.038 12 9. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:15.895 + 1.059 24 10. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:15.895 + 1.059 18 11. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:15.983 + 1.147 7 12. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 1:16.308 + 1.472 17 13. Klien Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:16.648 + 1.812 24 14. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) 1:16.746 + 1.910 12 15. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:17.145 + 2.309 12 16. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:17.282 + 2.446 6 17. Pantano Jordan-Ford (B) 1:17.665 + 2.829 14 18. Panis Toyota (M) 1:18.392 + 3.556 5 19. Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:20.449 + 5.613 10 20. Bruni Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:21.005 + 6.169 6 All timing unofficial