Tuesday August 21st, 2001

Just two days after clinching both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Ferrari team showed they are determined to continue to fight in the remaining four races of the season as they began testing at the Mugello circuit in Italy.

Rubens Barrichello, who finished in second place at the Hungaroring and who will be hoping to be runner-up to Michael Schumacher in the Championship, was the fastest of the four drivers present at the track.

The Brazilian, as well as test driver Luca Badoer, worked mainly on set-up and electronics with the F2001, also doing some tyre testing as he completed a total of 68 laps.

The two Ferraris were split by German Nick Heidfeld who, at the wheel of the Sauber, set the second fastest time of the day. The young driver was pleased with his day's work.

"We had a lot of new things to try on the car today, and generally the test went well," said Heidfeld. "We gathered a lot of information, which will enable the engineers to make further assessments that we can further develop tomorrow."

The Jordan team, working at Mugello for the first time, also tested with Frenchman Jean Alesi, who continued his acclimatization to the Silverstone-based team after his debut in Hungary. The Frenchman was slowest more than a second off Barrichello's time.

Testing at Mugello continues tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time   
 1.  Barrichello   Ferrari             (B)    1:25.011
 2.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas     (B)    1:25.357
 3.  Badoer        Ferrari             (B)    1:25.594
 4.  Alesi         Jordan-Honda        (B)    1:26.219

All Timing Unofficial

Published at 16:55:15 GMT