Alesi happy with first Mercedes run

The French Sicilian's track time was affected by changeable weather conditions, and his quickest lap was 1m11.95s. His running in the afternoon was curtailed by a heavy rain shower, but he came away from the test satisfied with what he'd seen.

"I'm very happy to have the opportunity to test the Mercedes DTM car today," he said. "The feeling of the car is good, and the most important thing of today is to get an impression of the power, the gearshift, the steering and the balance. The conditions, which were wet and slippery today, have not helped."




When asked if he is considering a move into the category, Alesi replied: "The DTM could be a possibility for my further racing career."

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug said: "The purpose of the whole test was for him to get a feeling of these type of cars. We discussed quite a long time ago about the possibilities once he'd finished his Formula 1 career. That's what we did today."

Merc also tested Britain's Danny Watts and South American Formula 3 series leader Juliano Moro, as it evaluates possible new drivers for its 2002 line-up.