Barcelona test, day 4: Schumacher on top again

The German drove his 2001-spec Ferrari around the Spanish GP venue in 1m20.56s, half a second clear of McLaren's Mika Hakkinen. Schumacher completed a long distance run today with consecutive stints of 18, 20 and 18 laps in hot and sunny weather conditions.

"We have done some important work, both on the tyre side and the electronics, in preparation for the race here," said Schumacher. "I think we will be competitive in Brazil, just as we were in Melbourne and Sepang. I can't see any reason why we shouldn't be."

The reigning champ didn't run with the new aerodynamic package that Ferrari is expected to reveal in Brazil. Team mate Rubens Barrichello's car sported a double front wing set-up in the opening practice session at Sepang, but it wasn't seen again.

Hakkinen's time from today was matched by British American Racing's Olivier Panis, who reverted to a 2000-spec car today as BAR decided to back-to-back test some development parts.

"At the end of this test we are happy with the progress and feel that we are in a good position for Brazil," said BAR's chief engineer Steve Farrell. "Having not tested since before Melbourne, we had a long list of development work to try out and we have achieved our objectives."

Pedro de la Rosa was fourth quickest for Jaguar, who stayed late at the track today along with the other Michelin runners while the track was doused for wet weather running.

Stephane Sarrazin took over testing duties at Prost today from Oriol Servia, as Jean Alesi continues to be conspicuous by his absence. Sarrazin was 11th fastest.


Michael Schumacher, Ferrari (2001) B, 1m20.56s, 75 laps
Mika Hakkinen, McLaren-Mercedes (2000) B, 1m20.94s, 56 laps
Olivier Panis, BAR-Honda (2000) B, 1m20.94s, 51 laps
Pedro de la Rosa, Jaguar (2001) B, 1m21.18s, 67 laps
Jarno Trulli, Jordan-Honda (2001) B, 1m21.23s, 71 laps
Luca Badoer, Ferrari (2000) B, 1m21.30s, 65 laps
David Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes (2000) B, 1m21.33s, 53 laps
Jacques Villeneuve, BAR-Honda (2001) B, 1m21.57s, 87 laps
Luciano Burti, Jaguar (2001) B, 1m21.90s, 49 laps
Jos Verstappen, Arrows-AMT (2001) B, 1m22.03s, 40 laps
Stephane Sarrazin, Prost-Acer (2001) M, 1m22.14s, 76 laps
Enrique Bernoldi, Arrows-AMT (2000) B, 1m22.22s, 51 laps
Giancarlo Fisichella, Benetton-Renault (2000) M, 1m22.24s
Marc Gene, Williams-BMW (2001) M, 1m23.29s, 62 laps
Giancarlo Fisichella, Benetton-Renault (2001) M, 1m24.91s

M - Michelin
B - Bridgestone