Jerez 2: Jenson once again

The Briton set his quickest lap during the morning session, before BAR turned its attention to running a race simulation for both its drivers. Button duly completed his 'race', in the process posting a string of impressively consistent laps. The team was running Honda's Melbourne-spec engine today, and the unit performed reliably.

"It's all good," Button told autosport.com. "We did a long run, which is all part of the tyre test. The car was pretty consistent and we got some good data. I'm happy with what we've done, but we do have a few problems to address. I'm reasonably happy, but we just need more long runs."

Sato's race simulation didn't go quite as well. As he exited the pits from his first stop, the front-left wheel detached itself from the Japanese driver's car, sending him into the gravel trap and ending his day's running. The team were using a new type of locking nut on the wheel today, although it has yet to determine whether it was this or human error that caused the wheel to fall off.

Franck Montagny, driving Renault's 'hybrid' machine, was the fastest of the non-BAR runners, ahead of Williams star Ralf Schumacher. Jarno Trulli and Marc Gene were fifth and sixth fastest for Renault and Williams respectively.

Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest McLaren runner present in seventh position, with the Finn managing an impressive 95 laps in the MP4-19. With David Coulthard (ninth fastest on the day) completing 96 laps, the team appears to have cured the reliability dramas that blighted its Barcelona test last week.

Jaguar star Mark Webber was eighth fastest, having spent the day running the team's definitive 2004 aerodynamic package for the first time. The Australian was convinced that the new kit, with included changed to the diffuser and the rear wing flaps, was a step forward.



"It was a slow start, and we didn't do enough laps," Webber told autosport.com. "We just need more laps tomorrow. The car is definitely faster than the R4. Now we have a new aero package, and the guys have done a good job on it. It's nice to see we're making some kind of progress. The aerodynamics have definitely improved. In fast corners the car is good, so the work has paid off."

Both Sauber drivers were in action, although Giancarlo Fisichella's running was curtailed after a smoking engine burnt out his car's electrical wiring, forcing the team to change the entire rear end.

Jordan propped up the timesheets with the new EJ14, with Nick Heidfeld and Giorgio Pantano sharing time in the car.

Jenson Button BAR-Honda M 1m16.997s 108
Takuma Sato BAR-Honda M 1m17.273s 59
Franck Montagny Renault M 1m17.297s 109*
Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW M 1m17.357s 83
Jarno Trulli Renault M 1m17.408s 102
Marc Gene Williams-BMW M 1m17.411s 71
Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes M 1m17.826s 95
Mark Webber Jaguar M 1m17.890s 57
David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes M 1m17.972s 96
Luca Badoer Ferrari B 1m18.070s 109*
Christian Klien Jaguar M 1m18.168s 99
Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas B 1m18.937s 63
Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas B 1m19.283s 44
Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford B 1m20.109s 51
Giorgio Pantano Jordan-Ford B 1m21.584s 24

B = Bridgestone
M = Michelin
* denotes 2003 car