Williams and Ferrari top second day of testing

The second day of testing continued in the same busy fashion as Tuesday, with sixteen drivers on track at the Spanish circuits of Valencia and Barcelona. There were one or two off track excursions and a couple of cars grinding to halt out on the ...

The second day of testing continued in the same busy fashion as Tuesday, with sixteen drivers on track at the Spanish circuits of Valencia and Barcelona. There were one or two off track excursions and a couple of cars grinding to halt out on the circuit but only minor incidents.

At Barcelona, Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer was top with a 1:17.291. Fellow Scuderia testers Felipe Massa and Luciano Burti were third and fifth respectively. Work again focused on Bridgestone tyres, electronics and engine development with all three drivers using an F2003-GA car.

Jenson Button.

Photo by LAT Photographic.

Jenson Button had a more productive day than yesterday and was second fastest in the interim BAR concept car. Teammate Takuma Sato was fourth. Giancarlo Fisichella was again the sole Sauber on duty and the Italian worked on aerodynamics, brakes and tyres.

Once again it was Williams at the top of the time sheet at Valencia, this time with Ralf Schumacher setting a best of 1:10.321. Juan Pablo Montoya was second quickest and team tester Marc Gen? eighth.

"We had another successful day's running today with all three drivers performing similar duties to yesterday, including useful tyre and chassis testing as well as further evaluation work on the new gearbox," said test team manager Tim Newton. "We also did some practice starts in preparation for the new regulations for 2004."

Renault's Jarno Trulli was third quickest and team test driver Franck Montagny sixth. Trulli -- as well as Mark Webber and Ralf Schumacher -- bought out the red flags when his engine blew and the car came to a halt on track. The Italian worked on tyres and suspension while Montagny concentrated on software and damper configurations.

McLaren continued with Alex Wurz in the MP4-17D, fourth on the list, and David Coulthard in the new MP4-19 improved from yesterday to fifth. Jaguar's Mark Webber was seventh fastest and on his second day trying out for the team, Cristian Klien was a few tenths behind in ninth. Toyota test driver Ryan Briscoe rounded off the times.