Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time of yesterday's two practice sessions for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who will be chasing his third successive win in tomorrow's race, powered his McLaren round the Hungaroring track in one minute, 20.554 seconds.
The 23-year-old Briton had been fourth fastest in the opening session behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen and his own team mate Heikki Kovalainen but improved in the afternoon to beat Massa's morning benchmark of 1:20.981.
"I'm relaxed, I'm driving good, I have a good car and things are running smoothly," a smiling Hamilton told reporters when asked about his current form.
"It's not a question of confidence, because I've never been one to lack confidence. It's more like a rhythm you pick up and a feeling of comfort with the car.
"It's very responsive right now and if I need something like more traction or something then I know where to go for it by making just one set-up change rather than chasing down different alleys.
"It's Friday though and Friday is nothing. It's just a day where we all warm up. Saturday is when we show our true face and Sunday is when we do the job."
Renault driver Nelson Piquet set the afternoon's second fastest time of 1:20.748, spinning off shortly after crossing the line, followed by Kovalainen in 1:20.760.
"Today was better than I expected and we have clearly made progress," said the Brazilian rookie, who celebrated his first podium finish last month after finishing second behind Hamilton at the German Grand Prix.
"The result at Hockenheim was important for the whole team and showed what we're capable of doing. We should probably easily have two cars in the points at this race."
Piquet's team mate Fernando Alonso improved from 1:21.802 in the first session to record the afternoon's fourth fastest time of 1:21.928.
Following their 1-2 in the morning, the Ferraris had to settle for fifth and sixth in the second session.
"The car handles better but our main rivals seem to be still a lot quicker than us, even if there is the usual question mark over any difference in the fuel loads," said Raikkonen.
"There is still room for improvement and we will concentrate all our efforts on this."
Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel suffered a frustrating day after being stopped in each session by what he later told reporters had been a hydraulic problem.
The German, competing in his first full Formula One season, completed a total of just nine laps, finishing bottom of the timesheets each time.