CNN -- Ferrari's Fernando Alonso edged out the Red Bulls to set the fastest time in opening practice for this weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia on Friday.
The Spaniard, who was racing on home soil, lapped the street circuit quickest in one minute and 39.283 seconds in the afternoon practice session.
Alonso, whose only victory so far this season came in the opening race in Bahrain, is aiming to reproduce today's form in official qualifying and then Sunday's race.
"This morning, the McLarens were very quick, the Red Bulls are always on front running pace and even Mercedes and Renault are very close," he told the Formula One website.
Our only aim is to be ahead of everyone, otherwise we wouldn't be Ferrari

"However, our only aim is to be ahead of everyone, otherwise we wouldn't be Ferrari."
Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull came second, with his teammate Mark Webber third and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, who was fastest in the morning session, in fourth place.
But his teammate and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher again disappointed, only posting the 11th best time on his debut in Valencia.
Schumacher, who finished out of the points in the last grand prix in Canada, has won the European Grand Prix, at different venues, six times.
"I found it quite comfortable to drive even if some of the corners are blind," he told reporters.
"However it's demanding to get the real rhythm which I have not totally found over one lap yet."
It was a generally disappointing day for McLaren, as championship leader Lewis Hamilton came in fifth fastest, followed by Renault's Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa of Ferrari.
Adrian Sutil of Force India managed eighth, just ahead of world champion Jenson Button and last year's winner Rubens Barrichello of Williams in ninth and tenth respectively.
However, reigning world champion Button remains positive the McLaren team can gain some vital points going into what he expects to be a difficult weekend of racing.
"It's going to be a tough weekend for us, but an enjoyable one too, and we should still get some good points from it," he told the Formula One website.

(CNN) -- Brazil and Portugal played out a disappointing draw as Group G reached its climax but both cruised into the last 16 of the World Cup.
Striker Nilmar came the closest to breaking the deadlock for Brazil, as his shot was diverted onto the crossbar by Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo.
Brazil finish as group winners and will face either Spain, Chile or Switzerland in the second round. Portugal go through as runners up and will face either Spain or Chile.
Ivory Coast comfortably beat North Korea 3-0 in the group's other match but it wasn't enough to give them hope of qualifying in place of Portugal.
Brazil 0-0 Portugal
During a cagey opening in Durban, neither side created any chances of note in the opening 20 minutes of the game, that was dominated by a series of niggly fouls.
Brazil defender Juan was lucky not to see a red card as he hand balled a long pass that would have released Cristiano Ronaldo.
The first real chance came on the half hour mark as Nilmar met striker Luis Fabiano's cross but Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo turned his effort onto the crossbar.
Fabiano then headed narrowly wide of the target as he met Maicon's cross from the right flank.
Ronaldo registered Portugal's first effort on target five minutes before the break but his powerful shot was easily gathered by Brazil goalkeeper Cesar.
A series of fouls disrupted the flow of the game, as the referee produced seven yellow cards before half-time arrived -- including one to Tiago for diving.
Fabiano forced Eduardo into another save with a looping header before Simao tested Cesar at the other end but his shot was right at the 'keeper.
A powerful run from Ronaldo created a chance for Raul Meireles but his flick towards goal brushed the side-netting via a touch from Cesar.
Substitute Ramires brought a superb save out of Eduardo near the end as his shot was deflected towards the top corner but both sides were content to hold out for a point.
Ivory Coast 3-0 North Korea
Ivory Coast knew they needed to rack up as many goals as possible against North Korea to have any chance of qualifying and they opened the scoring within 15 minutes.
Yaya Toure collected Arthur Boka's cross before stroking the ball into the far corner. Just a minute later, full-back Romaric hit the post.
In the 20th minute striker Didier Drogba smashed a shot against the crossbar before Romaric nodded the rebound into the net.
Gervinho nearly made it 3-0 seven minutes before half-time but his shot from an angle flicked off the outside of the post.
Drogba came close to adding a third after the break but his diving header flew over the crossbar before substitute Salomon Kalou smashed a shot over the bar from close range.
With ten minutes remaining Kalou met Boka's cross to fire into the net and despite having two goals disallowed for offside, the Ivory Coast couldn't add to their tally.

(CNN) -- Spain's World Cup campaign finally burst into life as they beat ten-man Chile to finish top of Group H and avoid a last 16 clash with tournament favorites Brazil.
David Villa and Andres Iniesta scored the goals as the European champions leapfrogged their opponents into top spot courtesy of a 2-1 win.
Switzerland failed to take advantage of Chile's defeat and grab the last qualification spot, as their game with Honduras finished 0-0.
Spain will now face Portugal in the second round while Chile will play Brazil.
Spain 2-1 Chile
Spain headed into the game knowing that a win would be good enough to take them into the second round as group winners.
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres had an early chance to put them in front but he headed over from Xavi's cross.
Chile's first chance came in the tenth minute when Jean Beausejour crossed for Mark Gonzalez but the winger couldn't direct his effort on target.
In the 24th minute Barcelona striker David Villa broke the deadlock.
As Fernando Torres raced to latch onto a long pass, Chile 'keeper Claudio Bravo rushed out of his goal to clear, but Villa latched onto the loose ball to stroke it into the net.
Defender Gerard Pique should have made it 2-0 when he put a free header over the bar from ten yards out, but he had to be alert seconds later to deny Beausejour an equalizer.
Then came the decisive passage of the game as Villa squared for Andres Iniesta to place a shot into the corner. In the build up to the goal Chilean defender Marco Estrada tripped Torres and was sent off after being shown a second yellow card.
Chile's ten men did hit back within minutes of the restart as substitute Rodrigo Millar's shot deflected off Pique and into the net but they failed to create any chances after that.
There was a worry for Spain as striker Torres was substituted on 55 minutes. The 26-year-old was injured at the end of the Premier League season with Liverpool and began Spain's opening game on the bench.
Chile pushed forward in search of an equalizer late on but Spain made their extra man count to retain possession, kill off the game and secure top spot.
Switzerland 0-0 Honduras
Switzerland knew they had to beat Honduras to have a realistic chance of going through through but it was Honduras who enjoyed the majority of possession in the early stages.
Midfielder Gokhan Inler squandered Switzerland's first opportunity, shooting wide form the edge of the penalty area.
Striker Eren Derdiyok then headed wide from six yards out after meeting Stéphane Grichting's right wing cross but the teams went in level at the break.
With Chile trailing to Spain, Switzerland poured forward in search of the goals that would have lifted them into second spot and meant qualification for the last 16.
But it was Honduras who had a glorious chance to take the lead just after half-time when Edgar Alvarez's cross found David Suazo unmarked six yards from goal but the striker somehow managed to put his header wide.
Then only a brilliant reaction save from Switzerland 'keeper Diego Benaglio prevented Edgar Alvarez from scoring as Honduras broke quickly.
Switzerland's Alexander Frei was next to go close as he met Hakan Yakin's free-kick at the far post but he couldn't direct his effort on target.
Both teams threw players forward to try and find a winner but it ended 0-0.

The iPhone 4 is finally available, but a good deal of the early buzz surrounding the hot new smartphone has been negative. The first wave of purchasers has complained of reception problems, yellow discolorations on the screen and swapped volume buttons, among other grievances.
Given the relative likelihood of such launch jitters, should savvy consumers wait a few months before plunking down on the latest "it" phone?
Analysts say the buy-now or buy-later decision boils down to the importance of having a phone that works properly from minute one, but in general it's better to wait a few weeks or even months while hardware kinks — the hardest type of fix — are sorted out in the manufacturing process.
"Really, it’s a personal preference," said Tina Teng, a senior analyst for wireless communications at tech firm iSuppli. "If you don’t want to deal with the hassle [of early problems], then maybe wait a few months."
Michael Morgan, a mobile devices industry analyst for ABI Research, agreed. "If you are extremely dependent on being in contact at all times, maybe you want to wait a bit [before buying a new phone]," Morgan said.
Inevitable errors
Manufacturing flaws are a fact of life, Morgan noted: "Let's face it, I don’t think there is a product on Earth, from drugs to tech devices to cars, that doesn't occasionally have a glitch or two coming off of the assembly line."
Quality control and technical issues are nothing new for smartphones when they first hit the market. Once confirmed, manufacturers aim to iron out these wrinkles as soon as possible so a new product is not tainted. For example, HTC announced last week a software fix for its new EVO 4G, which is suffering from poor touch screen sensitivity.
Even though the iPhone 4 is a fourth-generation device, it underwent the biggest redesign in the history of the line, both on the outside and the inside and its operating system.
"The iPhone 4 has new hardware and new software, so there are two ways for things to go wrong," said Morgan.
So far, the phone's issues appear hardware-related, which as a class are more difficult to solve because they usually require sending the phone back for repairs or swapping it with a replacement.
In general, a software problem does not necessitate a product return, noted iSuppli's Teng. A software fix or "patch" is typically created by the manufacturer and then made available for download right on the phone.
Testing, testing
Even if snafus are easy to resolve, companies naturally wish to avoid them at all costs.
Before a new-fangled product ever gets into the hands of customers, tech companies thoroughly attempt to vet it in-house for functionality and durability.
One common practice is so-called dogfooding, Morgan said, which is "when an engineer has to walk around and live with the device he made," or eat his own dog food, as the expression goes.
Apple certainly seems to dogfood aplenty, as evidenced by the prototype iPhone 4 accidentally abandoned by an employee that caused quite a stir back in April.
Though this real-life testing process will often reveal some pesky design flaws, Morgan said, almost no amount of dogfooding can expose all the potential trouble spots.
During pre-release testing, "on the software side, there are always some bugs that haven’t been discovered," said iSuppli's Teng.
The Palm Pre that came out a year ago is one such phone that has had numerous bug issues, Teng noted.
Into the wild
For a popular smartphone to really earn its stripes, it must satisfy millions of customers in the hyper-competitive real world marketplace.
In the case of the iPhone 4, having a plugged-in, obsessed fan base such as Apple's can be a blessing for someone undecided about when to purchase the phone.
With hundreds of thousands of new iPhones making the rounds right out of the gate, any and all flaws, however minor, in these first few batches tend to get seized upon.
The yellow discolorations that have been widely reported on iPhone 4 screens on the device's first day out might be an example. After speculation on Apple-centric Web site forums, Apple support technicians have now reportedly confirmed over the phone to customers that this yellow is from a screen bonding chemical agent. The agent apparently has not had time to fully evaporate just yet because Apple rushed the product from the factory per strong demand.
As a company that must back its products, Apple is presented with the challenge of evaluating reams of such user-generated claims of subpar product performance or manufacturing defects. "It gets real tricky ... separating the wheat from the chaff ... [when you're a] company selling millions of handsets," Morgan said.
Complicating the picture is that buyers can have a sort of "tech hypochondria," in which they think something is wrong with their device, having heard or seen such claims, when in fact the device is working just fine.
For the patient consumer, however, this sort of scouring by the early adopters can be great for honing future versions of a desired device.
"You want to see the glitches and wait for [companies] to fix them before you buy it," Morgan told TechNewsDaily. "Once things are discovered, [companies] do their damnedest to fix it and make it better right away."

Instead the government will leave the majority of super-fast broadband roll-out to private investment.
Some money will be available for rural roll-outs, he said.
The Conservatives opposed the introduction of the broadband tax and it was dropped from the Finance Bill at the end of the last parliament.
Speaking about the decision to scrap the tax, he said: "I am happy to be able to abolish this new duty before it is even introduced. Instead, we will support private broadband investment, including to rural areas, in part with funding from the Digital Switchover under-spend within the TV Licence Fee."
Opening ducts Labour plans to create a rural broadband fund via the new tax were supported by the Liberal Democrats but were heavily criticised by the Tories.
It was dropped from the Finance Bill as a compromise to get the rest of the legislation through before parliament was dissolved.
Despite the lack of new funding, the coalition government has said it is committed to providing broadband improvements.
In a speech at the beginning of June, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said that it was his goal to provide Britain with the "best superfast broadband network in Europe".
To achieve this, he is considering forcing water, gas and electricity companies to open up their ducts to allow fibre to be laid inside them.
Experts estimate that a large chunk of the cost of offering fibre networks is associated with the expense of digging up roads to create new ducts.
Last month, Ed Vaizey was appointed as the new broadband minister.
He will oversee the roll-out of next-generation broadband. He is also responsible for ensuring that all homes have a minimum speed of 2Mbps (megabits per second) by 2012, honouring a pledge made by the previous government.

It is the latest in a series of global investigations aimed at the firm.
Google has admitted that its Street View cars "accidentally" collected data from unsecured wi-fi networks in 30 countries because of some rogue code in the software used by the service.
The US investigation will attempt to answer how that code ended up being used by Street View.
Google has explained that the data was gathered as it logged wi-fi hotspots to help it develop location-based services. It has since stopped collecting such data.
But it has never gone into details about how the software came to be included in the Street View system, saying just that it was the work of a "single engineer".
The US investigation aims to drill down into Google's working practices.
It will ask the search giant who inserted the code and why, whether the data was extracted and why Google saved it.
In a letter to the search giant, Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has asked for copies of the company's internal procedures regarding Street View and for exact details of how and when Google learned that its cars were capturing sensitive data.
The letter also asks why Google recorded the signal strength and quality of personal and business wireless networks.
Richard Blumenthal Connecticut Attorney General
Mr Blumenthal said he expected a "significant number of states to participate". 30 have so far signed up.
He described the accidental collection of data as a "deeply disturbing invasion of personal privacy".
"Street View cannot mean Complete View - invading home and business computer networks and vacuuming up personal information and communications.
"Consumers have a right and a need to know what personal information - which could include e-mails, web browsing and passwords - Google may have collected and why. Google must come clean," he said.
The French data protection agency CNIL has had an early view of some of the information collected and said it included data such as passwords.
It said it was considering whether to prosecute the firm.
Like many other data protection agencies it had requested Google hand over copies of the data it gathered to find out whether it breached privacy rules.
Investigations are also on-going in Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Google said it was working with all the investigators and offering to delete all the sensitive data.
It has defended its position with Google boss Eric Schmidt saying there was "no harm, no foul" in collecting the snippets of information.
"Who was harmed? Name the person," Mr Schmidt said during an interview at the company's annual Zeitgeist conference held in Watford in mid-May.

All that traffic and city living burnt you out? Escape the clutches of the daily grind and decompress in lush, laidback Big Sur - it’s oh so near but feels oh so far.

Known for its counter-cultural tendencies, Big Sur feels like a rural mountain community with an earthy, artsy bent. Here are a few of our favourite things in Big Sur:

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park: California knows how to do a redwood. In this park you can hike through towering redwood groves, see the 60ft-high Pfeiffer Falls, climb to Valley View vista or dig down into the purple sand of Pfeiffer Beach - purple because of the manganese garnet that washes down from the hillsides above.

Esalen Institute: Only open to the public after midnight, the natural hot-springs baths of the Esalen Institute are worth the crazy effort of making reservations for, with au-natural pools perched on an ocean ledge and stormy moonlit surf crashing below.

Big Sur Bakery: This rustic, wood-shingled café produces feather-light artisan pastries and oversized cups of robust coffee. Grab a spot on the outside deck to enjoy a backdrop of lush green mountains and hummingbirds showing off.

Henry Miller Library: Miller lived in Big Sur for 18 years (Kerouac also lived here for a time) and this house celebrates his life and work with a great collection of books by Beat and Big Sur writers and eclectic cultural events.

Glen Oaks: Restored to its ‘Mad Men in the forest’ 60s chic, this rustic motel has been renovated using recycled elements while retaining incredible style. There are no TVs in the rooms - just wall-mounted gas fires to watch. Strangely captivating.

Big Sur Roadhouse: This incredible restaurant isn’t slinging greasy roadhouse grub - its chefs once worked at the award-winning Sierra Mar restaurant. The Latin-inspired menu utilises fresh local produce and the results are incredible - you’ll never have a spinach salad quite like theirs.

Download the Central Coast chapter from our latest Coastal California guide and head for Big Sur. It’ll be the start of a beautiful friendship.