Ralf fastest at wet Silverstone

Bad weather conditions disrupted the second day of testing at Silverstone this week, where Ralf Schumacher topped the times. Seven drivers were on track, although only five set a time, and Schumacher's Williams clocked a best of 1:30.282. Team test driver Marc Gen? was second fastest and the pair focused on tyre work in the wet weather, Gen?'s 57 laps the most of the day.

Ralf Schumacher.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

"Despite less than perfect conditions at Silverstone today, Ralf and Marc managed to set the fastest times of the day and complete the most lap," said test team manager Tim Newton. "With a wet track at our disposal, we worked on developing our wet race strategies and testing Michelin's full and intermediate wet tyres. We also completed some systems and electronics checks on the FW26 in preparation for Barcelona."

Renault continued with Jarno Trulli and tester Franck Montagny. Montagny managed 23 laps and conducted practice starts but didn't set a time. Trulli only did 7 laps in the morning, although he was third quickest. Chief test engineer Christian Silk decided little could be learned in the poor conditions and didn't want to risk any damage to the cars.

Kimi Raikkonen made it three cars on track for McLaren, the Finn being the fastest of the trio with fourth on the time sheet. David Coulthard was fifth and team tester Alex Wurz sixth. Raikkonen and Coulthard did just 14 laps between them and Wurz only three, the Austrian not setting a time.

Michael Schumacher set the best time of the five drivers on track at Mugello, 1:19.562, and Ferrari also had tester Luca Badoer at Monza. Both worked on tyres and Badoer also on engine tests, the Italian completing 521 kilometres with the Monza track again modified with two extra chicanes.

BAR's Takuma Sato was second quickest at Mugello, fractionally behind Michael, and team test driver Anthony Davidson was fourth on the time sheet. Jenson Button joins the test tomorrow. Toyota had Cristiano da Matta third quickest and tester Ricardo Zonta rounded off the times.

Sauber started its second day at Fiorano with Giancarlo Fisichella behind the wheel but was forced to finish early due to a mechanical problem. Fisichella worked on aerodynamics, brakes and tyres until the trouble hit, setting a best of 57.090 from 46 laps. At Vairano Jordan continued its three-day programme with tester Timo Glock on duty.