Heidfeld Flies as Sauber Dominate in Spain

Nick Heidfeld and Sauber teammate Felipe Massa set an impressive pace on the eleventh day of testing at the Catalunya circuit in Spain.

German Heidfeld, who had already impressed in the previous two days at the wheel of the new Ferrari-powered C21, was the only man capable of running within the 1:17s bracket, finishing nearly a whole second ahead of Brazilian Massa, who was also driving a C21 chassis.

"This has been a satisfactory test for us," said Heidfeld. "Today I concentrated on set-up work for qualifying in Melbourne, and despite a minor driveshaft problem this morning we were able to do more work than yesterday.

"The car was well balanced in qualifying trim and it's always nice to be fastest, but what will really count is what happens at the first race."

Spaniard Marc Gene and Juan Pablo Montoya followed the two Saubers, the Colombian driving the 2002-spec FW24. Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia was eighth quickest at the wheel of the third Williams.

Toyota wrapped up today a four-day programme at the Spanish circuit, where the Japanese squad worked with two cars on track for the first time this year. Allan McNish was quicker than teammate Mika Salo, who finished today's session more than four tenths of a second behind the Scot.

"We worked again on aerodynamics and did a small tyre test today," said McNish. "We have made some improvements, which gave me more feeling and confidence with the car, so I am quite happy and looking forward to the next test."

Japanese driver Takuma Sato enjoyed a promising day, setting the seventh quickest time ahead of teammate Giancarlo Fisichella who, driving the 2002 car, finished more than seven tenths behind the rookie.

Italian Jarno Trulli got his first taste of the new Renault R202, while Spaniard Fernando Alonso made his debut as the French team's test driver.

Trulli ended his first run in the new machine ninth quickest, and Renault technical director Mike Gascoyne said the team were pleased with his performance.

"It was Jarno's first run in the new car and his first impressions were very good," Gascoyne said. "He managed to run over 40 laps and acclimatised to the car extremely well."

Testing at Barcelona continues on Friday.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:17.891 73 2. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:18.605 67 3. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:19.233 63 4. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 1:19.680 64 5. McNish Toyota (M) 1:19.831 72 6. Salo Toyota (M) 1:20.245 35 7. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 1:20.351 69 8. Pizzonia Williams-BMW (M) 1:20.557 65 9. Trulli Renault (M) 1:20.834 44 10. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 1:21.091 36 11. Alonso Renault (M) 1:21.440 50 All Timing Unofficial