Jerez day 4 – AM: Bridgestone lock-out in the dry

At noon local time (1100 GMT) today (Thursday), with three hours of running completed, Bridgestone-tyred cars held the top eight spots.

David Coulthard's McLaren held the top spot, posting a 1m23.804s lap, ahead of Olivier Panis's BAR-Honda and the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello was fastest in yesterday's wet testing, but Michelin held four of the top six slots. In contrast, this morning's best Michelin runner was Benetton's Jenson Button in ninth (1m25.488s).

Michelin competition boss Pierre Dupasquier said he believed that as things stand, Bridgestone's dry weather compounds are faster over a small number of laps, but Michelin's compounds and constructions are more durable over longer runs.

Three red flags interrupted the morning's running, including stoppages on the circuit for Montoya and McLaren tester Alex Wurz, who leapt up the order to sixth after a low-key first two days of running.

Japan's Takuma Sato is scheduled to have his first run out with Jordan-Honda today. The British Formula 3 front-runner was shown the lines of the Jerez circuit by Button before testing began this morning.

Testing is scheduled to run until 1700 local time (1600 GMT).




1 David Coulthard (B) McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.804s
2 Olivier Panis (B) BAR-Honda 1m23.848s
3 Rubens Barrichello (B) Ferrari 1m23.942s
4 Nick Heidfeld (B) Sauber-Petronas 1m24.452s
5 Jarno Trulli (B) Jordan-Honda 1m24.459s
6 Alex Wurz * (B) McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.576s
7 Kimi Raikkonen * (B) Sauber-Petronas 1m24.763s
8 Darren Manning * (B) BAR-Honda 1m25.263s
9 Jenson Button (M) Benetton-Renault/Supertec 1m25.488s
10 Ralf Schumacher (M) Williams-BMW 1m25.561s