Local favorite Mark Webber set the pace in the third and final practice session ahead of tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
The Red Bull racer became the first man to break through the 1m25sec barrier this weekend, thanks to a late run on the softer, option tire, to lead the way after a dry hour of running.
Webber set a 1m24.794sec lap with six minutes to go, and then improved to a 1m24.719sec best to top the times by 0.210sec from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher was the only other driver to lap below 1m25sec. The German's Mercedes was fastest of all in the second sector, but couldn't hold on during the final part of the lap and he wound up third fastest, a farther 0.034sec back.
Webber's Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel wound up fourth, while Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and McLaren's Jenson Button rounded out the top six.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa led the way early on in the session with a 1m27.190sec, after briefly trading times with circuit newcomer Vitaly Petrov (Renault), but the Brazilian eventually wound up ninth fastest, over eight tenths off the pace.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who also took a turn at the top of the time sheet during the early harder tire runs, finished up seventh fastest, 0.786sec behind Webber and only 0.02sec clear of Force India's Adrian Sutil. Sutil's teammate Tonio Liuzzi rounded out the top 10.
After Massa's early pace setting, Rosberg and Vettel both took turns at topping the times, before Hamilton leaped to the front by becoming the first man to break into the 1m25sec midway through the session.
Hamilton, under fire in the Australian press for his "show off" antics in a Mercedes road car yesterday, set a 1m25.706sec best that remained unbeaten until Alonso shaved one and half tenths from Hamilton's mark with 22 minutes left to run. The Ferrari driver suffered badly from traffic in the early part of the session, but a few tweaks to his car's rear suspension and front ride height, plus some clear space on the circuit, allowed the Spaniard to set the pace briefly.
Alonso stayed on top until the 42-minute mark, when first Schumacher (1m25.494sec) then Webber (1m25.309sec) vaulted to the top of the time sheet for the first time, thanks to the last of the laps set on the harder tire.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:24.719 16
2. Alonso Ferrari 1:24.929 + 0.210 19
3. Schumacher Mercedes 1:24.963 + 0.244 17
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:25.122 + 0.403 19
5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:25.366 + 0.647 16
6. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.399 + 0.680 20
7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.505 + 0.786 14
8. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:25.525 + 0.806 18
9. Massa Ferrari 1:25.549 + 0.830 20
10. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:25.782 + 1.063 19
11. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:25.852 + 1.133 17
12. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:26.104 + 1.385 21
13. Kubica Renault 1:26.184 + 1.465 21
14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:26.275 + 1.556 21
15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:26.368 + 1.649 17
16. Petrov Renault 1:26.661 + 1.942 19
17. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:26.804 + 2.085 19
18. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:26.818 + 2.099 18
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:29.539 + 4.820 19
20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:29.800 + 5.081 16
21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:30.800 + 6.081 18
22. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:31.114 + 6.395 12
23. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:34.334 + 9.615 11
24. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:36.649 + 11.930 8
All Timing Unofficial