Mugello day 3: Badoer fastest

The Italian lapped the 5km track in a best time of 1m22.390s, which compared to Raikkonen's 1m23.055, while David Coulthard was back in third with a 1m23.423s. Badoer conducted an intensive tyre test for Bridgestone, which will be completed by Michael Schumacher when he takes over for two days of private testing tomorrow.

Both McLaren drivers were working on set-up for Barcelona. Raikkonen lost time with a blown engine and another unspecified problem, while Coulthard's test ended an hour early when his engine ran out of miles.

Allan McNish carried on for a third straight day, even though Ryan Briscoe was scheduled to drive. The Scot worked on mechanical set-up and feels the team is making progress after its poor showing at Imola.

"It was a very productive test," he said. "Although we can't take everything we worked on here to Spain, we should certainly see a small improvement. I don't think it'll be much better than Imola though as it's not a track that will suit us."

Stephane Sarrazin got a run in the TF102 and worked on traction control. The Frenchman, who drove in one GP for Minardi, suffered an engine blow and two other tecnichal problems, which limited his time in the car.

Ferrari's Luciano Burti concluded his three-day test at Monza today. The Brazilian covered 83 laps of the track, once again fitted with a modified chicane, as he evaluated various compounds of Bridgestone tyres.

"The three days of testing have been very productive, where we have been running with continuity and we have gathered interesting indications for the development of the tyres," said Burti.


Luca Badoer Ferrari B 1m22.390s 75
Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes M 1m23.055s 60
David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes M 1m23.055s 59
Allan McNish Toyota M 1m24.763s 72
Stephane Sarrazin Toyota M 1m26.098s 78

M = Michelin
B = Bridgestone