Warm-Up: Schumacher tops times

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen was second fastest, albeit nearly one second in arrears, serving notice that he will push Schumacher hard during Sunday afternoon's race. Team-mate David Coulthard clocked the third fastest time on his final lap to confirm McLaren as Ferrari's biggest threat.

Pedro de la Rosa was fourth fastest in his Jaguar, and the team will be desperate for their pace to be translated into a first points finish since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Rubens Barrichello and Jarno Trulli rounded out the top six, while Williams pairing Ralf Schumacher and Juan-Pablo Montoya were eighth and 11th respectively.

The only major incident of the session came when Jordan's Takuma Sato ran wide on the run out of Stavelot. With two wheels firmly on the grass a spin was inevitable, and although the reigning British F3 champion was able to straighten the car out after his pirouette, he ran out of room and clipped the barriers, extensively damaging his left-front suspension.

Jenson Button finished the session in thirteenth place ahead of outgoing Toyota driver Allan McNish, with fellow Briton Anthony Davidson outpacing highly-rated team-mate Mark Webber to clock the eighteenth fastest time.