Schumacher tops Monza day three

Another busy day at Monza, with again 22 drivers on track, saw Michael Schumacher top the times with a 1:21.286 for Ferrari. Team test driver Luca Badoer was fifth fastest and Rubens Barrichello ninth. All three drove F2003 cars and worked on tyres; Schumacher and Badoer also worked on endurance runs and Barrichello on set up. Felipe Massa continued at Fiorano in an F2002 running tyre tests.

Juan Pablo Montoya was second quickest for Williams, just seven hundredths behind Schumacher. Team tester Marc Gené was eighth. ""We had a good day at the test today as we learnt a couple more things about the set up of the FW25 for the forthcoming race," said chief operations engineer Sam Michael.

"We completed endurance runs with Marc Gené and did a race simulation for BMW, as well as testing some tyre compounds for Michelin. We've therefore had a reasonable day and we're looking forward to another half a days running tomorrow in order to fine tune the car for next weekend's Grand Prix."

Kimi Raikkonen was the best McLaren in third and test driver Alex Wurz set the twelfth time of the day. Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli were fourth and sixth respectively and worked on set up and tyres to finish Renault's two-day test. Michelin had six runners in the top ten on its revised tyre design and Renault technical director Mike Gascoyne thinks the new tyre could even be better.

"Thanks to our technical partners at Michelin, who have reacted incredibly quickly and effectively over the last few days, our tyre testing also went very well, and using the new shape tyre, we actually noted a small performance advantage over its predecessor." Said Gascoyne.

Jacques Villeneuve rounded off the top ten for BAR, while testers Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson were sixteenth and seventeenth respectively. BAR closed its three-day test of aerodynamics, engine and tyres. Mark Webber was the sole Jaguar on track, eleventh quickest.

The Toyota trio of Cristiano da Matta, Olivier Panis and tester Ricardo Zonta were line astern in thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth. Toyota also wound up its three-day test, the team working on a mechanical and aerodynamic programme and also suspension.

Giancarlo Fisichella was eighteenth and Jordan also had F3000 champion Björn Wirdheim on duty. Fisichella concentrated on tyres and set up while Wirdheim familiarized himself with the EJ13 and worked on brakes and dampers. He experienced a few gremlins but completed 46 laps on the final day of Jordan's two-day test.

Nick Heidfeld was the sole Sauber and the team's final test day was hampered by a heavy crash at the first corner, when the car hit the barrier. Heidfeld was uninjured and the team is investigating but the accident damaged new aerodynamic parts and the car floor. It was repaired and testing continued in the afternoon, using old components.

Gianmaria Bruni and Nicolas Kiesa shared a Minardi on the second and final day of the team's test and the pair were 21st and 22nd respectively. Work focused on aerodynamics, engine braking and tyre evaluation. "The drivers were able to complete their technical programmes and we now look forward to using the information gained to improve our on-track performance." Said team boss Paul Stoddart.