McLaren Still on Top at Valencia

The McLaren team continued to dominate on the third day of testing at the Valencia circuit, where Scot David Coulthard took over from test driver Alexander Wurz at the top of the times, as the British squad continued with the development of the MP4-17D chassis.

German Heinz-Harald Frentzen was an impressive second quickest with the fastest of the Sauber C22. The veteran driver, working with the optimised mechanical and aerodynamic set-ups that arrived yesterday, was less than two tenths of a second slower than Coulthard, while teammate Nick Heidfeld finished fifth. Both Saubers, however, were hit by transmission problems in the morning session.

"I felt the car was handling well and responded as expected to the work we have done today with the team and the second quickest time is the best proof," said Frentzen at the end of the day.

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello was the quickest of the three Ferrari men on track today, while World Champion Michael Schumacher could only set the sixth quickest time of the day after spinning off the track during the morning session.

"It wasn't a driving error or a mechanical problem," explained Schumacher. "We are not sure what was the cause, but perhaps it was a gust of wind. I've tried to stay alert but sometimes the wind changes so quickly that you lose all downforce and things like these happen."

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was seventh fastest with the Jordan EJ13, as the British team focussed on engine mapping for Cosworth, also evaluating brake materials and carrying out gearbox work and Bridgestone's tyre test programme.

"We have been able to put more miles on the EJ13 and work through a fair amount today with positive results for everything, so we're reasonably happy," said Jordan's Gary Anderson.

Frenchman Olivier Panis was eighth as the Toyota team continued to work with their new TF103. Panis' teammate Cristiano da Matta was again unimpressive in today's test, finishing near the bottom of the times with the second TF103.

"My car felt better again today and we are going in a positive direction," said da Matta. "I exchanged a bit of information with Olivier this morning and I adopted some of his settings. During the day, we continued to thoroughly test several new parts, which brought a real improvement to the overall balance.

"I have enjoyed my first trip to Valencia. The track is short, but has some nice slow corners, which are particularly good for testing."

BAR continued working with both Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button, while at the Jaguar team Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia took over from teammate Mark Webber. Pizzonia, who suffered a mechanical problem that forced the session to be stopped, finished as 11th quickest.

"It's good to be back in the car after last week's test session in Barcelona," Pizzonia told Jaguar's website. "Mark has done some pretty consistent stuff on the engine and set-up over the last couple of days and my focus today has been on tyre testing.

"I'm happy with the way things are going at the moment but we still have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks before we have an accurate picture of where we are leading up to Melbourne."

Dutch driver Jos Verstappen returned to the wheel of a Formula One car for the first time since 2001, taking to the Spanish track with the two-year old European-powered Minardi PS01. Verstappen, like his teammate Justin Wilson, was forced to run on Avon F3000 tyres as Minardi are yet to finalise a deal with Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone.

Verstappen, who completed a total of 49 laps, finished at the bottom of the times, but was able to lap more than two seconds quicker than Wilson, who was on track with Minardi yesterday for the first time in 2003. The popular Dutch driver was pleased with his day's work.

"It takes a little time to return to a Formula One car after 15 months away and to get back in the rhythm again, but after about 20 laps, I was feeling really comfortable and enjoying myself," said Verstappen. "That was the reason for today's test â€" to get used to F1 again â€" and that's what we did.

"I'm very pleased with the lap times, especially considering the car is two years old and we were running on Avon F3000-specification tyres. I have also confirmed that my fitness level is fine, so all in all, I am very pleased with the whole day. Now Justin and I will just wait impatiently to get in the new car."

The Bridgestone-shod teams will conclude the test tomorrow with a wet session.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:10.977 48 2. Frentzen Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:11.109 43 3. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:11.123 66 4. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:11.308 96 5. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:11.418 50 6. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:11.521 62 7. Fisichella Jordan-Ford (B) 1:11.709 62 8. Panis Toyota (M) 1:11.931 63 9. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:12.105 40 10. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 1:12.119 71 11. Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:12.329 62 12. Button BAR-Honda (B) 1:12.404 62 13. Da Matta Toyota (M) 1:12.414 77 14. Verstappen Minardi-European (A) 1:15.210 49 All Timing Unofficial

Visit Atlas F1's Testing Center for further information