Jordan bounced back from last week's announcement that BAR, rather than the Irish team, will be in receipt of works Honda engines next season by splitting the Ferraris in yesterday's free practice session ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

As Eddie Irvine dominated the session and Michael Schumacher experimented with different setups, Jordan's Heinz Harald Frentzen stole through in blustery conditions to push Schumacher down to third, recording a time just two-tenths of a second slower than the Ulsterman. "I'm very happy with the result," said Frentzen. "The wind was strong and we had to work hard to find the right set-up for the conditions. These narrow track Formula One cars are extremely sensitive to the conditions here in Barcelona. The wind, track temperature and the turbulence from cars under 200 metres ahead can make a big difference to the lap times. "All things considered we did a good job and will hopeful be able to get it right again in qualifying," he said.

Frentzen's team-mate, Damon Hill, continued in his quest to resuscitate a disastrous season by finishing sixth behind the Williams of Alex Zanardi and Mika Hakkinen. "It was really difficult to find the right set-up today due to the windy conditions," he said. "It makes it very hard to read the car and make the right set-up changes, but the result at the end of the day wasn't too bad."

The performance of both drivers will undoubtedly soften the blow of Honda's agreement to supply the British American Racing team with works engines next season. The creme de la creme of supply deals, BAR's three-year works contract will see them receive massive aid from the Japanese manufacturer, with up to 80 engines per year at no cost.

In addition, Honda and BAR staff will be jointly involved in the design of future race chassis.

Jordan, by contrast, subsequently agreed to an extension of their partnership with Honda's tuning arm, Mugen. The deal means that while both teams will carry Honda engines, the powerplants installed in the cars will be significantly different.

While Eddie Jordan was putting a positive spin on the deal last week, saying that the team's relationship with Mugen had been a key factor in the team's success this season and that next year's deal was a significant step forward, Honda's rejection of Jordan in favour of BAR will undoubtedly have left a sour taste.

Honda had been in the process of building a car to compete in 2000, but plans for entry into Formula One under its own name were put on hold when the programme's project leader, Dr Harvey Postlethwaite, died earlier this year.

In the midst of the stasis imposed on Honda, rumours suggested that Jordan would be the likely recipient of any fuller Honda involvement in the sport. Those rumours proved groundless when BAR, saddled until now with underperforming Supertec powerplants, began negotiations with the company.

However, while BAR, who continued to struggle in mid-table yesterday with Jacques Villeneuve ninth and Mika Salo a lowly 18th after pulling up with engine problems, will have to wait until next year to reap the benefits of their association with Honda, Jordan were bouyed by the arrival of a number of engine modifications donated by Mugen and based on their development of Honda's 2000 car.

While Frentzen was powering through to split the Ferraris and occupy the spot usually reserved for either of the McLarens, it was another difficult day for Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. Undone by a car he pronounced "undriveable" in Monaco, Hakkinen again struggled with the set-up in yesterday's crosswinds and finished fourth, four-tenths of a second behind Irvine.

Coulthard, meanwhile, could manage only a relatively lowly seventh. Coming at the end of a week in which Michael Schumacher wrote off Ferrari's chances of success in Barcelona, McLaren's haphazard performance again underscored Ferrari's growing superiority over the champions.

The Circuit de Catalunya's combination of fast corners, long straights and high grip was expected to suit McLaren, currently 24 points adrift of Ferrari in the constructors' championship. But yesterday's results, though carried out in less than ideal conditions and under a variety of set-ups, appear to show that Schumacher's doom-laden prophecies, while undoubtedly with some validity, are not as cataclysmic as the German would have everyone believe.

But while yesterday's twin practice sessions leavened the air of gloom surrounding the championship leader, predictions of victory were far from his mind. "We got through a lot of work today and tried many different configurations," he said. "The car feels better than last week's test and its handling has improved. It is a bit difficult to analyse today's times because of the wind, which greatly affects lap times here. "To judge our own performance accurately, we must look at the data and see who did what times and in what conditions," Schumacher added. "I am fairly optimistic we can qualify as well as we did in Monaco. It will be difficult, but not impossible."

Irvine, echoing his team leader's thoughts on the handling of the Ferrari, admitted he was happy to be quickest but dismissed the significance of his time. "The car's performing better than it did last week, but it's hard to be sure exactly what the situation is because of the strong wind. The wind problem is worse than last year as the tyres now offer less grip, so we rely more on aerodynamics. Of course, I'm happy to be quickest, but I'm not sure it means much."