Coulthard Quickest at Rain-Hit Barcelona - Day Two

Scot driver David Coulthard took advantage of a dry track in the morning to set the quickest time on the second day of testing at the Barcelona circuit, where the team's progress was hampered by the rain as they continued their preparations in the first session of the year.

Coulthard, driving last year's McLaren MP4-16 fitted with Michelin tyres, had already topped the timesheets in the morning session, the Scot being able to set his quickest time when the track was dry. In the afternoon, however, the Scot went off the track without damaging his car.

Coulthard was more than four tenths of a second quicker than Ralf Schumacher in the first of the Williams, who were again the only team who worked with three different drivers. Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya replaced test driver Antonio Pizzonia, quickest on Monday, and worked alongside Spaniard Marc Gene, who continued with the development work of the new BMW engine.

"We've continued to work in order to improve the reliability of the new BMW engine, although we also worked with traction control and the tyres," said Gene. "It's been a very positive day." Williams are expected to simulate a Grand Prix on Wednesday.

British American Racing's Anthony Davidson was fourth fastest at the wheel of the 2001-spec 003, while Frenchman Olivier Panis continued working with the new 004, setting the 13th quickest time of the day. Panis is expected to be replaced tomorrow by Canadian teammate Jacques Villeneuve.

The new Toyota team tested for the first time on the same track as their rivals, with Scot Allan McNish driving the Japanese's squad TF102 machine. McNish completed 38 laps on his way to the fifth quickest time, set while the track was dry.

Finn Kimi Raikkonen made his debut with the McLaren team, finishing today's session more than seven seconds behind teammate Coulthard. However, the young driver could only complete one lap in the dry.

World Champions Ferrari also joined the session today, working with both their test drivers Luca Badoer and Luciano Burti, the Brazilian returning to the wheel of a Formula One car for the first time since he suffered a dramatic accident at the Belgian Grand Prix last season. Italian Badoer was the fastest of the two, with Burti being half a second slower.

Also making his debut with his new team, Brazilian Felipe Massa kicked off Sauber's preparations for the 2002 season, the young driver working alongside teammate Nick Heidfeld at the wheel of last year's Ferrari-powered C20. Heidfeld was 10th quickest while Massa was down in 14th place.

"Although the weather hasn't been great, it feels good to be back in the car for the first time since Suzuka in October, 10 weeks ago," said Heidfeld. "I had great fun with the car today, working on a variety of set-ups, and evaluating different damper settings this morning, aerodynamic and gearbox work this afternoon. All went well."

Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button started working today for the Renault team, who presented a yellow and white car with no stickers. The Italian outpaced the Briton, who finished in front of Eddie Irvine. The Ulsterman debuted the new Jaguar R3, completing a total of 22 laps to finish the day at the bottom of the timesheets.

Testing will continue at Barcelona on Wednesday.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time 1. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:20.816 2. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 1:21.273 3. De la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:23.123 4. Davidson BAR-Honda (B) 1:24.444 5. McNish Toyota (M) 1:26.108 6. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:28.553 7. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:29.131 8. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 1:29.196 9. Burti Ferrari (B) 1:29.624 10. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:29.695 11. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:29.729 12. Trulli Renault (M) 1:30.010 13. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 1:31.036 14. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:31.316 15. Button Renault (M) 1:32.005 16. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:32.904 All Timing Unofficial