Mugello test, day 1: No rest for Rubens

With the Italian team taking just one day's rest after clinching the drivers' and constructors' championships at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, Ferrari was back in action on Tuesday with Barrichello and test driver Luca Badoer.

Barrichello, who is fighting to beat McLaren's David Coulthard to second place in the drivers' standings, set the pace with a lap of 1m25.02s. Under bright sunshine in the morning and short, sharp showers in the afternoon, the Brazilian completed 71 laps of tyre development work in preparation for the Belgian GP in two weeks' time.

Sauber's Nick Heidfeld continued his run of form by finishing second fastest, 0.35s behind Barrichello, while Badoer finished the day in third spot.

Jean Alesi was also on hand with his new team Jordan. Despite finishing the day fourth and last, the Frenchman was pleased with his progress as he continues to get to grips with EJ11.

"I was packing my bags for America before this [the Jordan drive] came along," said Alesi. "I'm very, very happy. But everything is still very new and I still have a lot to learn."

The British American Racing team is due to arrive in Italy on Wednesday with Jacques Villeneuve and British Formula 3 ace Takuma Sato sharing the driving duties. Jarno Trulli is also due to share the Jordan workload with Alesi.


Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari B, 1m25.02s, 71 laps
Nick Heidfeld, Sauber-Petronas B, 1m25.37s, 57 laps
Luca Badoer, Ferrari B, 1m25.61s, 34 laps
Jean ALesi, Jordan-Honda B, 1m26.22s, 40 laps