Drivers complain of Barca bumps

Newly laid asphalt around the Barcelona circuit has taken time to settle with oil seeping through the surface - leading to very difficult track conditions. The surface was so bad over the weekend and Monday that BAR, Sauber and Renault all decided to decamp to Valencia to continue their test programmes.

But now several drivers are reporting that while the circuit's grip is improving on-line (the track is still very slippery where rubber has not been laid down) the biggest problem is with the bumps.

"The circuit is not too bad," said BMW Williams driver Antonio Pizzonia who is now lapping just two seconds off a normal Barcelona pace. "It's manageable, but more than the surface, the problem is the bumps. There is a huge bump in the first corner, which everybody has to avoid because if you hit it you can't see where you are going.

"Out of the third corner there is a big bump and also out of the fourth corner there is another one."

Pizzonia's team-mate Mark Webber is also reported to be unhappy with the bump out of the fourth corner while Toyota's Jarno Trulli is finding it difficult to negotiate the entry to turn one because of the uneven surface.