Barcelona, day 3: Button feeling good

The Englishman spent the day doing a race simulation and qualifying runs later in the afternoon. His best lap was 0.1secs faster than team-mate Jarno Trulli's benchmark time from the day before.

"I managed to do quite a few laps today," said Button. "The handling was very good and consistent throughout and I'm very happy. There's definitely more to come. But it feels good in both race and qualifying set-ups."

New Arrows driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen was the next best, albeit a full second down on Button. The German was concentrating on set-up work with the Cosworth-powered A23.

"I was trying to find a balance with the car," Frentzen said. "We tried many set-ups and found a few things that were useful. The team really appreciates my experience."

Jordan completed its three days at Barcelona with Takuma Sato going third fastest as he managed 71 laps. "It's been a good test, especially today. A problem stopped me from finishing the full race distance, which I really wanted to do. The new car is improving all the time though and everyone is working very hard."

The team's final test before flying to Australia for the first race takes place at Silverstone next week.

Jenson Button Renault M 1m17.68s 86
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth B 1m18.60s 51
Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda B 1m18.95s 71
Mark Webber Minardi-Asiatech M 1m20.26s 58
Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Honda B 1m20.36s 81
Alex Yoong Minardi-Asiatech M 1m23.47s 24

B=Bridgestone
M=Michelin