Formula 1: Felipe Massa once again dominated but it was the Renaults who stated their credentials as preparations for the Malaysia Grand Prix were stepped up in earnest during today's second practice session.
The Brazilian topped the standings in the morning run from Fernando Alonso and once again led the way for Ferrari with a slower time of 1:35:780, just over a tenth of a second quicker than Giancarlo Fisichella.
Renault have enjoyed a fair amount of success at this event in recent times culminating in a one-two finish by Fisichella and Alonso last year.
And Heikki Kovalainen claimed third spot in the timesheets, 0.326 seconds back with a lap of 1:36:106 to give Flavio Briatore's team renewed hope of a successful weekend after a mixed start to the season in Melbourne.
Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth - giving Ferrari first and fourth - but it was not such a good afternoon for the McLarens with Lewis Hamilton only managing ninth and Alonso 12th after a strong performance in the earlier session.
Hamilton was the first of the contenders out on track and put in a lap of 1:37:323, followed moments after by defending world champion Alonso.
Like most teams McLaren had decided to use medium compound tyres at various stages during the 90-minute run, and Alonso pipped the Brit by just under three tenths of a second.
BMW-Sauber driver Robert Kubica then posted a 1:36:717 lap to head the field before Raikkonen stamped his authority on proceedings thanks to a lap of 1:36.669 with 30 minutes of the session gone.
But Massa, also on the medium compound tyres, then put in his best lap of the afternoon as the track temperature hovered around 50 degrees Celsius at a sweltering Sepang.
Nico Rosberg manoeuvred his Williams up to second but was replaced by Raikkonen, who posted his best time of 1:36:160 as Ferrari occupied the top two spots.
That is the way it stayed until the session was red flagged with 15 minutes remaining as Christijan Albers' right rear tyre suffered a blow-out that deposited debris all over the track and forced a two-minute stoppage.
On resumption, Mark Webber's Red Bull came to a stop when negotiating turn nine, before a frantic final five minutes saw the Renault's haul themselves up the standings.
Rosberg finished fifth and team-mate Alexander Wurz sixth, while Jenson Button improved his morning time by almost two seconds but still ended 15th, while David Coulthard was 13th and Anthony Davidson 18th.