F1 testing: BAR on top at Barcelona

Panis spent much of the day in the number one spot, just reward after a year as McLaren test driver has led to a race chance with the BAR-Honda team in 2001.

With Rubens Barrichello otherwise engaged and Michael Schumacher still recovering from his leg operation, Ferrari duties were left to test driver Luca Badoer. The Italian moved up from second to last place at lunchtime to third at the close of play.

Pedro de la Rosa completed 72 laps during the day and set the fifth fastest time for Arrows-AMT behind Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. Gaston Mazzacane was thought to be in line to test the Arrows this week, but insiders suggest that a deal with Prost Grand Prix has precluded the Argentine from running.

Also running for the Arrows squad, which has yet to sign a test driver for 2001, was British F3 champion Antonio Pizzonia who finally made it onto the track with half an hour of the session remaining. The Brazilian, using 2000-spec tyres, set the 11th fastest time ahead of former F3 rival Takuma Sato in a BAR.

BAR continued to test a plethora of young drivers with Marc Hynes joining Sato in the second BAR after the car had been shaken down by the team's test peddlar Darren Manning.

"I did 25 or so laps today to check everything fits and it was a really good day," said Hynes. "It's pretty daunting to jump into an F1 car and, although the power and brakes are not a problem, it's the grip in the fast corners which is really impressive. That's where I know I have to find time tomorrow, because the faster you go the more downforce you get to help you around."

Under bright and sunny Spanish skies the testing was interrupted only twice in the afternoon. Once by McLaren tester Alex Wurz, who stopped out on the track with engine problems and Heinz-Harald Frentzen also brought out the red flags when his interim Jordan-Mugen Honda EJ10B needed a tow back to the pits.

Michelin testing also began at the Estoril circuit in Portugal, with Jaguar Racing's Eddie Irvine topping the times ahead of Jenson Button.

The test was due to start on Tuesday but the teams were reportedly given a late go ahead to complete a handful of installation laps on old rubber. Williams was the third team to run with test driver Marc Gene propping up the time sheets with a lap seven seconds slower than Irvine.

Testing proper for the Michelin-shod teams continues tomorrow.

Barcelona, day 1 - unofficial times
POS, DRIVER, CAR, TIME, LAPS
1 Olivier Panis (BAR-Honda) 1m20.607s 82
2 David Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) 1m20.656s 67
3 Luca Badoer * (Ferrari) 1m21.005s 69
4 Nick Heidfeld (Sauber-Petronas) 1m21.150s 57
5 Pedro de la Rosa (Arrows-AMT) 1m21.274s 72
6 Jarno Trulli (Jordan-Mugen Honda) 1m21.284s 88
7 Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan-Mugen Honda) 1m21.352s 71
8 Alex Wurz * (McLaren-Mercedes) 1m21.694s 60
9 Kimi Raikkonen (Sauber-Petronas) 1m22.233s 52
10 Darren Manning * (BAR-Honda) 1m23.348s 21
11 Antonio Pizzonia (Arrows-AMT) 1m24.348s 12
12 Takuma Sato (BAR-Honda) 1m24.475s 28
13 Marc Hynes * (BAR-Honda) 1m25.261s 29

Estoril, day 1 - unofficial times
POS, DRIVER, CAR, TIME
1 Eddie Irvine Jaguar 1m26.58s
2 J Button Benetton-Renault 1m29.85s
3 Luciano Burti Jaguar 1m30.52s
4 Marc Gene * Williams-BMW 1m33.64s

* denotes test driver