Jerez testing: Fisichella fastest on final day
Giancarlo Fisichella set the fastest time on the third and final day of Formula 1 testing at Jerez - despite more mechanical dramas for Benetton
The Italian lapped the Spanish venue in 1m24.58s - over a second slower than Ralf Schumacher's best mark on Tuesday - as the Enstone team worked on its electronics systems, but his running was halted by an engine failure in the afternoon. Jenson Button, who didn't run at all yesterday as he waited for a new wide-angle Renault V10 engine to arrive, managed to complete only three laps before more mechanical trouble intervened.
On a brighter note for Benetton, it confirmed today that former Jordan chief designer Mark Smith would start working with the team on May 1.
Despite his problems, Fisichella was two-tenths ahead of BMW Williams newboy Juan Pablo Montoya. The Colombian outpaced his more experienced team-mate Ralf Schumacher by just five-thousandths of a second.
Williams test driver Marc Gene - who has been developing the new BMW engine for this season - was fourth quickest, lapping in the 1m26s bracket.
1 Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Renault 1m24.58s
2 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1m24.74s
3 Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1m24.79s
4 Marc Gene Williams-BMW 1m26.06s
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