Barcelona 3: Alonso fastest

Alonso spent most of the day putting in 25-lap endurance stints and completed a race distance in total before doing a low fuel run in the last ten minutes of the session. Both he and Renault test driver Frank Montagny, who was sixth fastest, suffered engine problems during the day.

Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya worked with Michelin on tyre compounds and constructions while practicing pitstop routines with the Williams team. Montoya completed more laps on account of a long engine change to Ralf's car. Marc Gene continued comparison tests in last year's FW25, and was fourth fastest.

Third was an enthusiastic Jenson Button, who got into the groove with the new BAR 006. "I got to know the car really well today," he said. "We have done a lot of testing.

"We managed to do a reasonably good lap the other day, but I think we are really stepping in the right direction now. The team is very motivated. The car is awesome. It looks good, it has a low centre of gravity, it's lighter than last year's. The 006 feels really well-balanced. I have tried so many different types of tyre today and I have found some that I really like.

"I am driving well and I feel I'm pushing the team hard. They are moving forward and I am really enjoying this position."

Rubens Barrichello was fifth fastest in last year's Ferrari as he and test driver Luca Badoer carried on with the super intensive Bridgestone workload.

Olivier Panis was the quickest Toyota driver in seventh and both he and Cristiano da Matta have admitted that there is much work to do before the first race as they try to release more grip from the TF104. "It's been a positive day," said the Frenchman. "We got the maximum out of the car today, but we still need to improve a lot. The base of the car is fine and we have had no problems with reliability."

McLaren struggled for pace at Barcelona once again and David Coulthard and Pedro de la Rosa were hampered by engine related problems that limited their running time. Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest of the trio in 11th, although three drivers are thought not to have found a satisfactory balance yet during the test.

Sauber have packed up and gone home following Felipe Massa's accident this morning, the result of a right-front suspension failure. The Brazilian was dazed but otherwise unhurt in the accident.

Testing continues tomorrow.

Fernando Alonso Renault M 1m14.665s 104*
Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW M 1m14.679s 51*
Jenson Button BAR-Honda M 1m14.699 114*
Marc Gene Williams-BMW M 1m14.997s 64
Rubens Barrichello Ferrari B 1m15.058s 84
Frank Montagny Renault M 1m15.288s 81*
Olivier Panis Toyota M 1m15.444s 81*
Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW M 1m15.550s 41*
Luca Badoer Ferrari B 1m15.646s 64
Takuma Sato BAR-Honda M 1m16.083s 91
Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes M 1m16.083s 91*
Cristiano da Matta Toyota M 1m16.110 86*
Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes M 1m16.440s 39*
David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes M 1m16.573s 39*
Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas B 1m17.777s 4*

B = Bridgestone
M = Michelin
* denotes 2004 car