Barcelona, day 4 am: Sauber stars
Sauber enjoyed an encouraging morning on the fourth day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya with the new C21 taking the first two places at the head of the timesheets
With Ferrari absent following yesterday's troubles (see separate story) it was left to the customer team to set the pace. Although Nick Heidfeld brought the day's only red flag when he stopped on track, the German still managed to record the fastest time of 1m19.095, just under a tenth quicker than team-mate Felipe Massa.
The Brazilian rookie used the morning session to get in some pitstop practise, but everything did not quite go as planned as the unfortunate mechanic who was run over will testify! Early reports suggest that he was fortunately uninjured.
Marc Gene was the quickest Michelin runner in third, while Juan Pablo Montoya was fourth quickest in the 2002-spec FW24. His best lap was over half a second shy of Heidfeld's.
Mika Salo set an encouraging pace for Toyota by recording the fifth fastest time, just ahead of Takuma Sato in the 2001 Jordan. Giancarlo Fisichella managed 14 laps in the EJ12, while Jarno Trulli had his first taste of the new Renault. He also covered 14 laps, setting a best time of 1m22.449s.
Testing continues this afternoon.
Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas* B 1m19.095s 43
Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas* B 1m19.183s 35
Marc Gene Williams-BMW M 1m19.233s 21
Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW* M 1m19.680s 44
Mika Salo Toyota* M 1m20.245s 35
Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda B 1m20.351s 44
Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW M 1m21.038s 35
Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Honda* B 1m21.791s 14
Fernando Alonso Renault M 1m22.340s 18
Jarno Trulli Renault* M 1m22.449s 14
Allan McNish Toyota* M 1m23.010s 12
M = Michelin
B = Bridgestone
* denotes 2002 car
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