McLaren calls on Alesi

The former Ferrari and Benetton star tested for the Mercedes-powered team at Paul Ricard earlier in the year. It was supposed to be a one-off, but with McLaren struggling to fend off Renault for the honour of being the third best team, let alone challenge for race wins, the veteran of 201 grands prix has been called on again.

Alesi, now a Mercedes-Benz driver in the DTM, will drive the car at Mugello in Italy, where McLaren teams is scheduled to test for three days. The team's regular test driver Alex Wurz will also be in action, and Kimi Raikkonen will take over from Alesi on Wednesday and Thurdsay.

McLaren had a nightmare San Marino GP. David Coulthard finished a lap behind in sixth place, while Raikkonen retired from fifth after a broken exhaust caused his rear suspension to overheat. The result means McLaren is now 31 points behind Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

However, team boss Ron Dennis remains optimistic that its season can be turned around.

"The reality is that we have known since Malaysia that it's going to take time to close the gap to the front of the grid," he said. "Nothing but hard and focused work over a period of time can fulfil that objective and none of those values are in short supply in at McLaren."