Massa Goes Fastest at Barcelona

Sauber driver Felipe Massa finished on top of the timesheets on the third day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

The Brazilian driver, in his team's first test since switching from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres, set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1:14.661 as he evaluated new brakes and ran aerodynamic tests in preparation for 2005.

"After the first two test days with Michelin tyres we are happy that the change to Michelin went without a problem," said team principal Peter Sauber. "We mainly concentrated on gathering many data and adjusting the set-up of the C23 to the requirements of the new tyres.

"Based on this knowledge we can say that the car and the tyres fit together very well, which is anything but natural. We are convinced that the new C24 will profit from this combination. The lap times impressively demonstrate this."

Massa's day was hindered by a mechanical problem which saw him stopping on track in the afternoon, but still managed 71 laps to finish in front of Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher, who had a productive day and covered nearly 200 laps between the two.

Australia's Mark Webber was fourth quickest for the Williams team as he continued acclimatising to his new squad and the BMW-powered FW26. Webber was the quickest of the two Williams drivers, with Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia down in seventh in the second FW26.

The Red Bull Racing team continued testing with both Vitantonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien, the Italian outpacing the Austrian by nearly a whole second today.

Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella posted the sixth fastest time of the day after a more productive session than yesterday, when he was hampered by electrical problems.

The Italian managed to cover 86 laps - 52 more than yesterday - to finish over two seconds ahead of his teammate Franck Montagny, who was slowest in the second Renault as he worked on tyre testing for Michelin.

"Giancarlo had a productive day, completing plenty of laps as he continues to settle into the team," said Renault's chief test engineer Christian Silk. "We made good progress in adapting the set-up to his driving style, and he has also developed his understanding of the car during the day.

"This initial set-up work was followed by a large tyre development programme in the afternoon. Franck's mileage was unfortunately limited by the nature of his programme, but he continued important electronic systems work for next season."

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, who had a perfect debut with his McLaren team on Wednesday when he posted the quickest time of the day, was only eighth fastest today in the first of the Mercedes-powered MP4-19B cars. The other was driven again by test driver Alex Wurz, ninth quickest.

The Ferrari team continued with their programme of tyre and electronics testing with both Luca Badoer and Marc Gene at the wheel of the F2004. The Italian was the fastest of the two today, with Gene nearly eight tenths slower.

Enrique Bernoldi and Jenson Button were once more in charge of testing duties for the BAR-Honda team, the Briton driving the 2005 concept car while the Brazilian took to the track in last season's 006.

The Barcelona test ends tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Massa Sauber-Petronas (M) 1:14.661 71 2. Trulli Toyota (M) 1:14.881 96 3. R.Schumacher Toyota (M) 1:14.994 95 4. Webber Williams-BMW (M) 1:15.244 80 5. Liuzzi Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:15.351 89 6. Fisichella Renault (M) 1:15.404 86 7. Pizzonia Williams-BMW (M) 1:15.546 49 8. Montoya McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:15.828 55 9. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:15.871 106 10. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:16.095 46 11. Klien Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:16.256 98 12. Gene Ferrari (B) 1:16.859 106 13. Bernoldi BAR-Honda (M) 1:16.864 114 14. Button BAR-Honda (M) 1:16.916 44 15. Montagny Renault (M) 1:17.497 31 All Timing Unofficial

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