Renault back at front of timesheets.

Renault received a much needed boost ahead of a crucial Hungarian Grand Prix after Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella posted the second and third fastest time in the second practice session of the day.

Having to persevere with low-grip levels courtesy of the lower than usual temperatures, all of the teams suffered with difficulties in getting a good balance with Renault admitting that they are expecting tomorrow's qualifying session to be a greater indication of pace.

However, despite their encouraging result, they will also be frustrated that the only man in front of them was Felipe Massa in a Ferrari. Furthermore, Renault will be disappointed to see a 1.3secs gap between themselves and the pace setter, while it is also worth pointing out that they would have been behind both McLarens and Michael Schumacher in the first session too with their afternoon times..

Nonetheless, both were content with their day's work, particularly after their torrid German Grand Prix, with Alonso pleased to express the team are going in the right direction again.

"It was a good start to the weekend for me. The conditions were very low grip today and that meant the car balance was quite inconsistent, but we managed to do our normal programme, get a feel for the tyre performance and start making some set-up changes.

"I was having some problems with the rear end to begin with, but we managed to calm it down during the session and we will carry on working in that direction tomorrow. The times seem competitive, so I think we are on the right track."

Fisichella meanwhile had to overcome a traction control problem that almost saw him spin off the track, although he too believes Renault are in 'reasonable shape' going into qualifying.

"I had a problem on my first lap when the traction control cut out on the exit of turn 7 and I half-spun. But we fixed it in the garage, and after that started the normal programme. It's much colder than usual here in Hungary, and that means the conditions are very low grip indeed, coming from the track but also the tyres.

"The car was quite tricky to drive because of this, but we made some good changes and need to do some more overnight. It is going to be a difficult weekend because of the conditions, but we seem to be in reasonable shape."