Frentzen tops test times at Silverstone

A foggy start to the day prevented any morning running, but the teams were able to do three hours of running after finally taking to the track at 2pm.

Despite many rumours to the contrary, Dario Franchitti did not make an appearance to test for the Jaguar team, although sources close to the team suggest that preparations have advanced and the test will take place at a later date.

Eddie Irvine was not present and was therefore unable to prove his statement that Jaguar are the third best team in Formula 1 - that duty was left to Johnny Herbert, who finished the day in third place behind Pedro Diniz's Sauber.

Jos Verstappen put his Arrows into fourth place, closely followed by Alex Wurz, 0.24s behind - although the Benetton was plagued with gearbox problems. Antonio Pizzonia carried out tests to compare medium and soft compound tyres, finishing the day sixth ahead of Jaguar tester Luciano Burti, who ended up 10 seconds off the pace after carrying out development of electronics which limited his speed.

Testing continues tomorrow and finishes on Thursday. Irvine is scheduled to take over from Burti tomorrow, with the Brazilian back on Thursday.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
H. Frentzen Jordan-Mugen Honda 1m27.17s 61
P Diniz Sauber-Petronas 1m27.23s 60
J Herbert Jaguar 1m27.27s 38
J Verstappen Arrows-Supertec 1m27.50s 44
A Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1m27.74s
A Pizzonia Benetton-Playlife 1m28.72s 50
L Burti Jaguar 1m38.46s 32