Kovalainen on top again at Ricard

Testing took place again around the 3E SC layout of the French circuit, with a length of 3.8kms.

Renault driver Kovalainen, fastest on his first day of work yesterday, had another very productive session as the French squad continued with the development of the race-winning R26 car.

The Finn completed a massive 213 laps, well over two Grand Prix distances, to finish with a best time of 1:04.400.

Kovalainen outpaced BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld, who joined the Paul Ricard test today, replacing test driver Robert Kubica. Heidfeld, who caused the only red flag of the day, and Toyota's Jarno Trulli were the only two racing drivers in action.

Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa was third quickest in the McLaren MP4-21, the test driver using the same Mercedes engine he started working with on Tuesday. De la Rosa covered another 145 laps with the unit, which has completed over 450 laps this week.

De la Rosa worked again alongside teammate Gary Paffett, the Briton focussing on tyre evaluation for Imola at the wheel of the MP4-20 fitted with a V10 engine.

Trulli and Toyota teammate Ricardo Zonta, celebrating his 30th birthday today, finished at the bottom of the times.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time     Laps
 1.  Kovalainen    Renault              (M)  1:04:400  213
 2.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber           (M)  1:04:905   96
 3.  de la Rosa    McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  1:05:094  145
 4.  Paffett       McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  1:05:518  153
 5.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  1:05:702   72
 6.  Zonta         Toyota               (B)  1:05:738  121

All Timing Unofficial