Barcelona 4: JPM sets pace

The Colombian spent the day working on set-up and tyre developments. He pronounced himself happy with the progress the team has made, especially compared to last season.

"The testing has been good," Montoya told autosport.com. "We're in a much better position than we were in at this time last year. The car has improved a lot, and it's more stable. It should be competitive, although we don't know how competitive it will be compared to the opposition. I'm sure the car can win races, although the championship is another matter. We'll see."

Antonio Pizzonia and Nelson Piquet Jr also drove for Williams. Pizzonia's running was hampered by electrical problems with his FW26, while Piquet Jr damaged his year-old FW25 after spinning.

Renault continued its positive test showing, with test driver Franck Montagny, working on long runs, setting the fourth fastest time behind Pizzonia. Team-mate Alonso continued work on a Michelin tyre programme.

The other two teams present at Barcelona didn't have quite such a good day. Olivier Panis was hospitalised for precautionary checks after crashing his Toyota early in the afternoon, having completed just 37 laps.

Cristiano da Matta managed 96 laps for the team, although he also suffered a crash in the morning, damaging his nose when he went off-track.

Meanwhile, McLaren's run of trouble continued, with the MP4-19 struggling for pace around Barcelona. David Coulthard completed 51 laps in the morning, but technical problems prevented him from running at all in the afternoon.

Alex Wurz completed 64 laps for the team, although progress was again hampered by technical dramas. He did better than Pedro de la Rosa, however, who never took to the track, despite being scheduled to run.

Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW M 1m14.804s 50*
Fernando Alonso Renault M 1m15.080s 75*
Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW M 1m15.112s 51*
Franck Montagny Renault M 1m15.170s 75*
Cristiano da Matta Toyota M 1m15.705s 96*
Nelson Piquet Jr Williams-BMW M 1m15.809s 51
David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes M 1m15.908s 51*
Olivier Panis Toyota M 1m15.911s 37*
Alex Wurz McLaren-Mercedes M 1m16.022s 64*

B = Bridgestone
M = Michelin
* denotes 2004 car