Jerez 2: Pizzonia quick again

Williams test driver Antonio Pizzonia continued to set the pace during the final Formula 1 test before the winter at Jerez in Spain on Wednesday, as Jacques Villeneuve's troubled adjustment to grand prix machinery continued

Oct 13, 2004, 5:25 PM

Pizzonia, who got back in the cockpit this week for the first time since hurting his ankle in a hotel at the Chinese Grand Prix, was almost nine tenths of a second faster than his closest rival - Ricardo Zonta in the Toyota.

Most of the attention, however, was on Jacques Villeneuve who has been drafted into the test in a bid to gain more valuable mileage before the final race of the season in Brazil.

But the former world champion was put in the shade by Renault's third driver Franck Montagny, who ended the day third fastest overall. Montagny's best lap was more than two-tenths faster than Villeneuve, with the pair separated in the timesheets by McLaren's Alexander Wurz.

Antonio Pizzonia (Williams) 1m16.541s
Ricardo Zonta (Toyota) 1m17.401s
Franck Montagny (Renault) 1m17.463s
Alex Wurz (McLaren) 1m17.647s
Jacques Villeneuve (Renault) 1m17.721s
Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren) 1m17.727s
Enrique Bernoldi (BAR) 1m19.406s
Bjorn Wirdheim (Jaguar) 1m19.722s
Katsuyuki Hiranaka (Toyota) 1m20.862s