McLaren and Williams Kick Off Valencia Test - Day One

The McLaren and Williams teams began on Wednesday their final test before the start of the season in Australia next week.

Both Michelin-shod teams kicked off a three-day programme at the Valencia circuit in Spain, where McLaren's test driver Alexander Wurz set the quickest time of today's session ahead of Scot David Coulthard with the second Mercedes-powered MP4-17.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya and Spaniard Marc Gene worked at the wheel of the FW24 from the Grove-based squad, finishing slightly behind Coulthard.

"The objective of today was to run the FW24 to evaluate brake and aero components," said Williams race engineer Tim Preston. "It looks like we've made a positive step forward but the test was delayed after JPM had a minor 'off'. Both cars will be prepared tonight for endurance runs tomorrow."

Both teams will continue working at Valencia on Thursday and will finish the test with a session behind closed doors on Friday.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:12.569 67 2. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:13.416 28 3. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 1:13.468 43 4. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:13.904 44 All Timing Unofficial