Quiet start to test week on two circuits

It was a relatively quiet start to the week's testing schedule, with McLaren taking over Silverstone and a quartet of test drivers on track at Mugello. In the UK, Alex Wurz topped the times at Silverstone with a 1:22.803 and worked on development of the MP4-17D. Darren Turner, who has tested sporadically for McLaren in the past few years, was second quickest.

The team also tried out British F3 driver Steven Kane, who won the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award in 2001. Kane won the Junior Formula Ford title that year and was second in this year's F3 Scholarship class. He set a time of just over two and a half seconds off Wurz today.

At Mugello, Ferrari test drivers Luca Badoer and Felipe Massa shared the track with BAR counterparts Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson. Badoer was top, setting a best of 1:22.689 over 74 laps, and Massa followed on just under a second behind. The pair worked on tyres and set up for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Sato was third quickest, despite a crash in the afternoon and Davidson rounded off the times, both testing Bridgestone tyres. Sato's BAR touched the grass at turn eight and impacted with the barrier, slightly injuring Sato's leg.

He was checked at the circuit medical centre before being moved to hospital for a precautionary X-ray. The car was not badly damaged and Sato is expected to return to work tomorrow, providing he is cleared to do so.

"I thought I had taken the same line as before, but it looks like I put the wheels on the grass," he told Autosport. "I started spinning and that was that. I feel fine. I've got this cloth soaked in an ointment around my ankle to cool it down. I'll eat now, take some aspirin tonight and see how I feel tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be ok."