The Briton duly posted the fastest times in sectors two and three, but was unable to overcome a 0.3s deficit in the first sector and came up 0.035s short over the lap.

The final five big hitters were still to come out, but just as they were gearing up to do so the spots of rain that had fallen throughout most of the session gave way to a full-scale cloudburst.

Fisichella managed to get his lap in just in the nick of time, but by the time Michael Schumacher began his the track was awash.

The German called upon all of his exquisite car control as he skated through the Esses, and at the first timing point he was only 0.5s shy of his brother’s mark.

But by the time he reached the Spoon Curve it was a different story, and such was the volume of standing water along the back straight that he had to coast along at half-throttle.

The time? A 1m52.676s, which put him between the Minardis and in an eventual 14th place.

Newly crowned world champion Fernando Alonso could only manage a 1m54.667s, while the McLaren duo fared even worse.

Kimi Raikkonen (who was facing a ten-place grid penalty in any case) took it very gently but still had to apply armfuls of opposite lock through the Esses, eventually crossing the line in 2m02.309s