Alonso and Fisichella in top form
Renault fired out an ominous warning in final practice for the Canadian Grand Prix by taking a one-two when the pace hotted up in Montreal.
World champion Fernando Alonso signalled his intention of taking a fourth consecutive win by setting the fastest time with a lap of one minute 15.455 seconds, easily the best of the weekend so far.
Earlier this week Alonso claimed Ferrari were favourites in Canada but his performance today made light of that prediction and Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella added further doubt to his claim.
Fisichella, celebrating a renewed Renault deal for next year, was just 0.066secs slower than his team-mate, who leads the world championship by 23 points from Michael Schumacher.
The Ferrari driver, who spun earlier in the session, delivered a late flying lap of his own but that was only good enough for sixth place.
Home hero Jacques Villeneuve made a rare visit to the top three in third for BMW-Sauber, just ahead of team-mate Nick Heidfeld.
Kimi Raikkonen, the winner in Montreal a year ago, was in fifth place, while team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya was seventh.
Jenson Button offered little hope of an improvement in his fortunes in the aftermath of Geoff Willis’ ousting as Honda’s technical chief.
The Englishman was 12th fastest, just over a second slower than Alonso’s pace, although team-mate Rubens Barrichello was marginally better off in eighth.
Scotsman David Coulthard also missed out on the top 10, piloting his Red Bull to 14th.
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