The top 10 was rounded out by the Toyotas of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli in sixth and seventh, Fernando Alonso eighth for Renault, with Nico Rosberg ninth in his Williams and Robert Kubica 10th for BMW Sauber.

CNN: Champs leader Button wins Spanish GP pole

The top 10 was completed by Brawn's Rubens Barrichello, who himself has designs on finishing runner-up to his team-mate, with Williams' Nico Rosberg ninth and Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari 10th.

CNN: Kovalainen quickest in Abu Dhabi practice

The 41-year-old German took over from Nico Rosberg with about an hour and a half of the Valencia session remaining, and ended up posting a time more than a second faster than his younger teammate.

CNN: Massa upstages Schumacher in F1 return