Testing starts to wind down

Testing began to slow down slightly today after the busy start to the week, with the main action being centred at Jerez. Michael Schumacher was again the fastest man at the Spanish circuit, 1:19.176 for the Ferrari driver. Schumacher continued with set up and tyre work.

Team test driver Luca Badoer was at Fiornao and completed 28 laps working on electronics and shaking down of the cars for Indianapolis.

Ricardo Zonta was the only Toyota on duty today and was second quickest, concentrating on set up and tyres. Zonta continues tomorrow and race driver Olivier Panis will be on track in France at Paul Ricard.

Third fastest, Heinz-Harald Frentzen concluded Sauber's three-day test running tyre and aerodynamic evaluations. BAR's Jenson Button was fourth on the time sheet despite an early crash, which put him out of action for the rest of the day. Button was unharmed save for a bruised knee and went home as a precautionary measure. Teammate Jacques Villeneuve rounded off the times.

Williams continued at Silverstone, where Juan Pablo Montoya again set the best time. The Colombian posted a 1:20.006 ahead of tester Marc Gené. Ralf Firman was scheduled to drive this morning but never showed up. Firman was back behind the wheel yesterday for the first time since his crash in Hungary but it's not yet known if the drive aggravated his recovery.

Zsolt Baumgartner, who is getting familiar with stepping into Firman's seat, was present for Jordan instead and completed fifty laps but was over three seconds off the time of the Williams pair.