Barcelona

Trulli fastest overall

The Prost team set the fastest time of the several teams testing in Barcelona on Wednesday and Thursday. Jarno Trulli, who was third fastest the first day with a best of 1m 24,977 secs after just 24 laps then ran 34 laps on Thursday to take the fastest time of the test at 1m 22,327 secs. Olivier Panis took over Trulli's car during the day on Thursday and ran just 23 laps with a best of 1m 24,948 secs. Also present for the Prost team running last year's AP01B was Stephane Sarazzin who ran around 40 laps each day with a best of 1m 26,4 secs the first day and 1m 26,311 secs the second day.

Good test for BAR

Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta were both testing for BAR in Barcelona, Jacques Villeneuve fastest the first day and ending up second fastest for the week with a best of 1m 23,725 secs on Thursday. He ran 53 laps the first day with a best of 1m 24,835 secs and 73 laps the second day when he set his best time working on chassis set-up and tyre testing. Ricardo Zonta had a troubled first day when an engine failure saw him run only 19 timed laps with a best of 1m 25,148 secs, while on Thursday he managed 46 laps and fourth best time of 1m 24,299 secs.

Race runs for Benetton

As well as some aerodynamic testing and a new exhaust system and shock absorbers the Benetton team were concentrating on race distance testing and reliability for Brazil during their two days in Barcelona. Their first day did not go well when Fisichella suffered an engine failure after two thirds of a race run , while Wurz managed only 11 laps all day because of gearbox problems. Things went better on Thursday, both drivers completing a race distance with Fisichella third fastest at 1m 24,195 secs and 92 laps of running while Wurz completed 86 laps with a best time of 1m 24,352 secs.

Williams off the pace

The Williams team took part in their first test since Australia in Barcelona , the team saying explaining that they had decided to wait for new parts to test before running following the technical debrief after Australia. Zanardi ran 54 laps the first day and set the second best time of 1m 24,935 secs, but could only improve to 1m 24,535 secs on Thursday to set the sixth fastest time in 35 laps running. Ralf Schumacher ran 34 laps on day one with a best of 1m 25,027 secs and then went no quicker on Thursday with a best of 1m 25,090 secs in 43 laps.

Barcelona Thursday Test Times:

Driver	Car	Best time	laps
Trulli	Prost	1.22.327	34
Villeneuve	BAR	1.23.725	73
Fisichella	Benetton	1.24.195	92
Zonta	BAR	1.24.299	46
Wurz	Benetton	1.24.352	86
Zanardi	Williams	1.24.535	35
Schumacher	Williams	1.25.090	43
Panis	Prost	1.24.948	23
Sarrazin	Prost	1.26.311	39

McLaren run at Silverstone

After finishing their private test session at Jerez last weekend, the McLaren team were back in action on Thursday at Silverstone where David Coulthard ran a single MP4/14 test chassis. Mika Hakkinen was due to shake down the team's race and spare chassis for the Brazilian Grand Prix, April 11th.

Ferrari and Minardi at Fiorano and Mugello

At the end of last week Ferrari moved to Maranello to continue testing, but rain saw Michael Schumacher run just 24 laps for the day with a best of 1m 2,082 secs when the track had dried out. After a weekend off, the German was back in Mugello where Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro were working on chassis set up. There was more rain in the morning when he set a 1m 37,388 secs , but the track dried later allowing him to improve to 1m 29,539 secs. Unfortunately, his day ended early at 3,30 pm when his car suffered a broken gearbox which Michael admitted was caused by a mistake on his part.

On Tuesday the weather was fine and he ran 53 laps testing various aerodynamic solutions and tyre testing for Brazil. He set a best of 1m 28,08 secs on Tuesday and then improved to 1m 26,801 secs on Wednesday morning during 37 laps before handing over to Eddie Irvine in the afternoon. Irvine ran a further 47 laps with a best of 1m 27,105 secs, the team continuing to learn more about the set-up for the chassis which will be so critical around the bumpy Interlagos track at the upcoming Brazilian GP.

On Sunday, during a test at Fiorano, Luca Badoer was injured when he crashed his Minardi M199 after 48 laps on the circuit. The accident was due to a faulty fly-by-wire throttle system which caused him to hit the barrier very hard braking his right hand as the steering wheel was snapped around in the accident. Badoer was taken to hospital where two pins were inserted into his damaged hand after which he then saw a specialist Dr Costa.

He said that he might be able to race in Brazil , although the team are looking for a reserve driver as a back-up. Shinji Nakano in one possibility. On Tuesday, at Mugello, Marc Gene took over testing new bodywork for the car which included revised sidepods and front and rear wing which might be used in Brazil. The Spaniard ran 54 laps with a best time of 1m 30,13 secs.