Mugello, day 1: McLaren tests

Grip has been cited as one of the cars weaknesses and both drivers tried various aerodynamic package around Mugello, which with its high-speed corners is pretty similar to Barcelona, host of the next GP. Using a brand new chassis it was Wurz who set the pace, lapping the track over half a second quicker than Alesi, who was in the T-Car from Imola.

The only other team present on a cool, cloudy day was Toyota, another team in search of downforce. There were no new pieces on the TF102, but Mika Salo spent the day re-evaluating a number of aerodynamic solutions, while Allan McNish tried a variety of suspension set-ups in a bid to make the car hold the road better.

Salo brought out the day's sole red flag when he lost an engine with an hour of the session to go.

Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer joins in tomorrow, when McLaren will have Raikkonen and Coulthard on hand.

Ferrari's other tester Luciano Burti was in action today at Monza. The Brazilian drove one of last year's F2001s and covered 47 laps of the track, setting a best time of 1m27.449s.


Alex Wurz McLaren-Mercedes M 1m23.328s 92
Jean Alesi McLaren-Mercedes M 1m23.968 78
Mika Salo Toyota M 1m25.453 58
Allan McNish Toyota M 1m26.807s 66

M = Michelin
B = Bridgestone