De la Rosa on top at Jerez

But it was Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, quickest yesterday, who shone again as he posted the best time in a V8-engined car.

But it was Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, quickest yesterday, who shone again as he posted the best time in a V8-engined car.

De la Rosa, driving the orange McLaren MP4-20 with a non-restricted Mercedes V10 engine, finished over a second quicker than Schumacher who, at the wheel of the F2004 fitted with the V8 unit, posted a time over half a second quicker than Toyota's Ricardo Zonta in the V8-powered TF106.

Schumacher completed only 53 laps and caused a red flag late in the day when his car stopped on track. The German worked alongside test driver Luca Badoer, in a V10-engined F2005.

Local hero Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest as he continued at the wheel of the Renault R25, ahead of his debut with the new car tomorrow. The R26 was again driven by teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, who enjoyed an encouraging day and posted the sixth quickest time.

"It was another encouraging day for me with the R26," said Fisichella. "We did not run much this morning, but it was much better this afternoon when we managed some long runs. The laptimes look reasonable, but the important thing is that they are very consistent, because we haven't touched the set-up at all yet.

"It is hard for me to compare with the R25 at the moment, because I only drove the V8 power simulation for one day in wet conditions. So tomorrow, when I am in the old car, I can have a better idea of the step forward we have made. Overall, though, today confirmed my first impressions, that the potential is there with this car."

The Renault drivers were split by Nick Heidfeld, whose BMW-Sauber team joined the Jerez test with a completely white car which caught the eye of the Spanish fans which attended the test.

Austrian Alexander Wurz, signed as Williams' third driver for the 2006 season, made his debut with the Grove-based team today, although the former McLaren driver only took to the track in the afternoon and went off track soon after that.

Wurz could only complete 31 laps during the session and finished close to the bottom of the times. His teammate Nico Rosberg was eighth fastest after 50 laps, but the German driver had a troubled day, causing two red flags during the session.

The Honda team kicked off their first test of 2006 with Anthony Davidson and James Rossiter at the wheel of two hybrid cars fitted with V8 engines.

Vitantonio Liuzzi with the Toro Rosso and David Coulthard in the new Red Bull RB2 ensured all teams but Midland were present at the Spanish circuit today.

Coulthard did not enjoy a good day, managing just two laps before his car broke down in the morning. The Scot returned to the track in the afternoon, but he covered just 31 laps and finished at the bottom of the times as Adrian Newey watched the team's progress.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                Tyres  Time     Laps
 1.  de la Rosa    McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  1:16.509   86  *
 2.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari              (B)  1:17.970   53
 3.  Zonta         Toyota               (B)  1:18.541   71
 4.  Alonso        Renault              (M)  1:18.697  104  *
 5.  Heidfeld      BMW-Sauber           (M)  1:18.817   56
 6.  Fisichella    Renault              (M)  1:19.118   65
 7.  R.Schumacher  Toyota               (B)  1:19.189   35
 8.  Rosberg       Williams-Cosworth    (B)  1:19.394   50
 9.  Davidson      Honda                (M)  1:19.427  112
10.  Badoer        Ferrari              (B)  1:19.774   94  *
11.  Rossiter      Honda                (M)  1:19.891  104
12.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  1:19.975   18
13.  Paffett       McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  1:20.136   81  *
14.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)  1:20.216   90
15.  Wurz          Williams-Cosworth    (B)  1:20.749   31
16.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)  1:21.198   31

* V10 engine

All Timing Unofficial