Mugello test, day 3: Schuey flies again

Schumacher ran a new compound of Bridgestone tyres, but was cagey about whether he thought they would be good enough to match rivals Michelin next week. "I hope these Bridgestones are enough for Monza because I expect Michelin and Williams to be very strong," he said.

BAR's Olivier Panis was more outspoken about the Japanese rubber, although it is not clear whether he had a chance to try the new compound. A power steering problem in the afternoon limited his running.

"Bridgestone are far too conservative," said the Frenchman. "At the moment they are very frightened of blisters. Michelin's tyres survive better with blisters at higher temperatures. I just don't understand why Bridgestone are going to the race knowing they will lose."

Spaniard Fernando Alonso set an impressive time for Minardi to go quicker than Jordan's Jean Alesi and BAR's Takuma Sato. Alonso set his time in qualifying trim.

Alesi managed his first proper run with the new front suspension that the team fitted to his EJ11 yesterday, while new British Formula 3 champion Sato tested a mechanical power steering system that BAR will be forced to switch to for next year. BAR and Ferrari are the only teams to use electronic power steering, but this will be banned at the end of the season.



Michael Schumacher, Ferrari B, 1m24.23s, 73
Olivier Panis, BAR-Honda B, 1m25.62s, 46
Fernando Alonso, Minardi-Ford M, 1m25.69s, 73
Jean Alesi, Jordan-Honda B, 1m26.18s, 81
Takuma Sato, BAR-Honda B, 1m26.82s, 57