Alonso led the racing drivers' timesheets in the second practice

Fernando Alonso renewed his rivalry with Michael Schumacher as they swapped fastest times in Friday's free practice sessions for the European Grand Prix.

Ferrari's Schumacher was the quickest race driver in first practice at the Nurburgring circuit, but world champion Alonso hit back in the afternoon.

The Renault star narrowly pipped him by 0.040 seconds, though Schumacher remained the day's fastest race driver.

Williams tester Alex Wurz claimed overall honours, topping both sessions.

Test drivers, without the pressure of conserving their engines, traditionally top the times in the first practice and Friday was no different with Austrian Wurz the man to beat.

Wurz's lap of one minute 32.675 seconds was slower than his morning best of 1:32.079.

"The car is competitive but maybe not enough to win although it's great to be up there in qualifying. Honda's Jenson Button

Former world champion Schumacher, fresh from his win at the San Marino Grand Prix two weeks ago, also failed to match his first practice time of 1:32.858.

Alonso was almost a second behind Wurz in the afternoon but still edged Schumacher, while Red Bull test driver Robert Doornbos and Honda counterpart Anthony Davidson were fourth and fifth.

Afterwards Schumacher said he needed help from other drivers to catch championship rival Alonso.

"I wish there would be a few other drivers up there fighting to win who could take some important points away, but it doesn't look like this is the case," the 37-year-old said.

Ralf Schumacher was sixth for Toyota as he prepares for his 150th Grand Prix, while Briton Jenson Button took sixth - comfortably faster than Honda team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Button expects to be a contender for his fourth straight pole position in qualifying on Saturday but admits he needs to improve further.

"The car is competitive but maybe not enough to win but it's great to be up there in qualifying.

"Today has been a good day," he added. "Everything has run smoothly; I am happy but here are some improvements we still need to make."

Scotsman David Coulthard was 19th for Red Bull but hopes his car will come good on race day.

The engine feels OK. It is the handling that is a difficult, but it's hard to find a cure. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen

He said: "This time last year we really struggled in Germany and yet on Sunday we had one of our best races ever in terms of competitiveness, so I've got an open mind for this weekend."

Ex-Renault test driver Franck Montagny, who replaced axed rookie Yuji Ide at Super Aguri this week, completed 16 laps in each session, finishing both times just behind team-mate Takuma Sato.

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen fears handling problems could scupper his race hopes.

The Finn only finished eighth and 13th in the two sessions and said: "I am not happy with the car.

"The engine feels OK. It is the handling that is a difficult, but it's hard to find a cure.

"We try every race. We will see what we can do but We don't really know what the problem is. The gap is more than we expected."

Second free practice session at Nuerburgring on Friday:

1. Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-Cosworth 1:32.675
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:33.579
3. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:33.619
4. Robert Doornbos (Ned) Red Bull-Ferrari 1:33.799
5. Anthony Davidson (GB) Honda 1:33.870
6. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:33.883
7. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:33.920
8. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:33.991
9. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:34.030
10. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Midland-Toyota 1:34.179
11. Nico Rosberg (Ger) (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 1:34.215
12. Christijan Albers (Ned) Midland-Toyota 1:34.472
13. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.536
14. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:34.546
15. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:34.631
16. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-Cosworth 1:34.825
17. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.968
18. Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull-Cosworth 1:35.066
19. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Cosworth 1:35.241
20. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:35.308
21. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:35.406
22. Neel Jani (Swi) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:35.479
23. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:35.669
24. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 1:35.688
25. Tiago Monteiro (Por) Midland-Toyota 1:35.902
26. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.255
27. Franck Montagny (Fra) Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.665

First free practice session:

1. Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-Cosworth 1:32.079
2. Anthony Davidson (GB) Honda 1:32.399
3. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:32.852
4. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:32.858
5. Robert Doornbos (Ned) Red Bull-Ferrari 1:32.944
6. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:33.635
7. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:34.213
8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.402
9. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:34.995
10. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Midland-Toyota 1:35.332
11. Neel Jani (Swi) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:35.365
12. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:35.612
13. Christijan Albers (Ned) Midland-Toyota 1:35.985
14. Tiago Monteiro (Por) Midland-Toyota 1:36.062
15. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1:37.817
16. Franck Montagny (Fra) Super Aguri-Honda 1:37.933
17. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault no time
18. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault no time
19. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota no time
20. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren-Mercedes no time
21. Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull-Cosworth no time
22. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Cosworth no time
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Cosworth no time
24. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari no time
25. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-Cosworth no time
26. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth no time
27. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber no time
28. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber no time