Barcelona day 5 am: Pizzonia fastest

The Brazilian covered 31 laps, setting a best time of 1m19.452s, almost two seconds off the mark set by Nick Heidfeld yesterday, but 0.6s up on Jarno Trulli, who was second quickest in the new Renault.

It was the second time the Italian had driven the R202 and the car continues to impress him, especially its grip. He's still adapting to the different characteristics of the Michelin tyres but the signs are boding well for the rebranded team.

Takuma Sato was third quickest in a 2001-spec Jordan, but it was an eventful day for the Japanese driver. Sato brought out the sessions first red flag when he stopped out on track early on, but when the front axle broke later in the session he was pitched into the barriers at the high-speed Turn 11. The left hand side was badly damaged, although Sato, who has yet to complete a full race distance in testing, was perfectly okay.

Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella had another disappointing day and covered only five laps before the new EJ12 succumbed to a mechanical problem. Jaguar was back in action too, with a new front wing and revised rear suspension. Eddie Irvine drove the troublesome R3, but was over a second slower than Pedro de la Rosa in last year's R2.

Testing continues this afternoon.


Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW M 1m19.452s 31
Jarno Trulli Renault* M 1m20.085s 7
Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda B 1m20.677s 12
Pedro de la Rosa Jaguar M 1m20.811s 33
Eddie Irvine Jaguar* M 1m22.078s 20
Fernando Alonso Renault M 1m22.122s 17
Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Honda* B 1m35.595s 5

M = Michelin
B = Bridgestone
* denotes 2002 car