Nelson Piquet Jr finally got it right at Magny-Cours on Saturday morning, clocking the fastest time in Practice Three.
The Brazilian is under pressure to perform and that's exactly what he did in front of Renault's home crowd and corporate sponsors, posting a 1:15.750 to beat Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in the build-up to qualifying.
Report: In sunny and warm conditions Giancarlo Fisichella was the first driver out on track, leading a train of cars as the drivers put in their installation laps.
After five minutes only the two Ferraris and Hondas had yet to take to the track, which saw a ten minute period of absolute silence before anyone finally went out to set a lap time. And that someone was France's Sebastien Bourdais who clocked a 1:17.491.
He continued to lower the benchmark before being overhauled by team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Jarno Trulli went third ahead of Timo Glock and Nick Heidfeld.
Vettel improved to a 1:16.4 while Kimi Raikkonen took third place on his first timed lap, half a second behind the Toro Rosso. The Ferrari driver dropped two positions when Nelson Piquet Jr slotted into second place and Heikki Kovalainen went third.
Raikkonen, though, ovehauled his fellow Finn on the following lap. Team-mate Felipe Massa was fourth on his first attempt before being dropped by Kovalainen.
Piquet Jr clocked a 1:16.344 to lead the way with Lewis Hamilton taking fourth place ahead of Rubens Barrichello. The duo, though, were soon displaced by Williams' Kazuki Nakajima who went P4.
Hamilton's 1:16.182 saw him take over from Piquet Jr at the top of the timesheets while David Coulthard's set the fastest middle sector time on his way to second place.
Mark Webber made his way into the top six while Piquet Jr clocked the fastest first and third sector times to jump to the top of the table. The Renault driver was the first to get below the 1:16 barrier with a 1:15.750.
Raikkonen improved to third place and was soon joined in the top four by team-mate Massa. The Ferrari drivers, though, were half a second off Piquet Jr's pace.
Vettel continued his good run this weekend, sandwiching his Toro Rosso between the two Ferraris. Bourdais followed his team-mate into the top eight, taking seventh place between the two Red Bulls. However, both dropped one place when Webber went P2, 0.009s behind Piquet Jr.
The last five minutes saw a flurry of activity with ended with Vettel slotting in behind Piquet Jr and Webber while Rosberg got ahead of Raikkonen, Trulli and Hamilton. Bourdais completed the top eight.
Times
01 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:15.750 19 laps
02 M. Webber Red Bull 1:15.759 14 laps
03 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:15.827 21 laps
04 N. Rosberg Williams 1:15.974 17 laps
05 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:16.003 18 laps
06 J. Trulli Toyota 1:16.147 20 laps
07 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:16.182 16 laps
08 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:16.235 18 laps
09 F. Massa Ferrari 1:16.256 17 laps
10 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:16.282 18 laps
11 T. Glock Toyota 1:16.344 20 laps
12 F. Alonso Renault 1:16.437 20 laps
13 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:16.545 16 laps
14 R. Kubica BMW 1:16.617 20 laps
15 K. Nakajima Williams 1:16.644 16 laps
16 J. Button Honda 1:16.651 20 laps
17 R. Barrichello Honda 1:16.658 17 laps
18 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:16.687 19 laps
19 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:17.365 23 laps
20 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:17.612 21 laps
