De la Rosa Fastest at Paul Ricard - Day One

McLaren's test driver Pedro de la Rosa set the fastest time of the first day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France, where five of the Formula One teams have begun testing today ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix next weekend.

De la Rosa, who also ran the most number of laps today - 113 in total - set of 1:32.460 - a tenth of a second quicker than Williams's test driver, Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia.

The weather at the French track was ideal for most of the day, however the testing programme was cut somewhat short when a rain shower hit the track in the afternoon.

Alongside McLaren and Williams, Toyota had on duty test driver Ricardo Zonta, who set the third fastest time of the day - some four tenths of a second behind de la Rosa. Zonta was, in turn, some three tenths faster than Olivier Panis, who finished the day in fifth, behind Williams's Marc Gene.

McLaren's third driver, Alex Wurz, was sixth fastest - more than a second slower than de la Rosa. He was followed by Anthony Davidson who retired from testing during the morning session, complaining of back problems.

Davidson stopped on track due to the pain, and had to be helped out of the car. He was taken to the medical centre where any injury was ruled out and he was released after a doctor's examination. The Briton, nonetheless, was sent home to rest. He will be replaced tomorrow by Jenson Button.

Last on the time sheets was Jordan's test driver, Timo Glock. The German was some two seconds behind the pace setter of the day, having completed a total of 88 laps.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Time Laps 1. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:32.460 113 2. Pizzonia Williams-BMW (M) 1:32.556 87 3. Zonta Toyota (M) 1:32.875 99 4. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:32.956 84 5. Panis Toyota (M) 1:33.165 73 6. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:33.746 70 7. Davidson BAR-Honda (M) 1:34.189 12 8. Glock Jordan-Ford (B) 1:34.335 88

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