Nelson Piquet kept up Renault's surprise run of form by setting the pace in practice ahead of qualifying for the French Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon.

The Brazilian recorded the fastest lap of one minute, 15.750 seconds at Magny-Cours to match team-mate Fernando Alonso's feat in Friday's session.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was 0.009 seconds adrift in second.

Kimi Raikkonen was fastest of the main contenders in fifth for Ferrari, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton seventh.

The Englishman incurred a 10-place grid penalty after his pit-lane collision with Kimi Raikkonen in Montreal and will be looking to improve his showing in qualifying.

Less than a second separated the top 18 drivers at Magny-Cours with Force India duo Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil bringing up the rear.

Final practice times for the French Grand Prix:

1. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:15.750
2. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:15.759
3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:15.827
4. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:15.974
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:16.003
6. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:16.147
7. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:16.182
8. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:16.235
9. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:16.256
10. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 1:16.282
11. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:16.344
12. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:16.437
13. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1:16.545
14. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:16.617
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:16.644
16. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:16.651
17. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:16.658
18. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:16.687
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India - Ferrari 1:17.365
20. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Ferrari 1:17.612