Mugello test, day 3: Massa again

Massa is staking a claim to the vacant seat alongside Nick Heidfeld with the Swiss team for next year and the young Brazilian finished day two at the Italian circuit 0.4s ahead of Jean Alesi in second place.

Alesi continued preparation work for the Jordan team ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix in 10 days' time. The veteran Frenchman, who is rumoured to be losing his seat with the Jordan team to Japanese young gun Takuma Sato, worked on set-up, launch and traction control and tyre development for the Suzuka race.

British American Racing test driver Darren Manning put in an impressive performance to finish third as the Formula 3000 ace completed engine work. Honda is thought to be supplying an uprated version of its V10, which is thought to be higher-revving than its predecessor, to both BAR and Jordan for the Japanese GP.

British Formula 3 runner-up Anthony Davidson put in a best time of 1m26.43s to finish fourth fastest, and completed 43 laps. The McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award winner finished running early when the rain came, due to his lack of experience, but he says it was welcome relief as his neck was hurting following the extra forces involved in stepping up to F1.

"I was more confident today than yesterday," Davidson told Autosport.com. "I'm really enjoying it now, but I was relived when we finished early so I can give my neck a rest."

Formula 3000 International champion Justin Wilson finished fifth for Jordan as he struggles to get to grips with running at speed in the dry. The young Briton impressed Eddie Jordan's team during his maiden F1 outing in wet conditions at Silverstone two weeks ago, but had little running in the dry.

The 23-year-old, who is aiming to step up to F1 next year, used the day to adjust to the car and work towards finding a dry set-up that suited him. His best time was two seconds behind Alesi in the dry, but when the rain came late in the afternoon, he was only two tenths behind the Grind Prix veteran.

"Today was so frustrating because of the weather," said Wilson. "I was re-learning the car again and the team did so much to make sure I was comfortable. I'm happy - not with the time, but with the work I've done."

Work continues tomorrow for Jordan and BAR, but today (Thursday) was the final day for the Sauber team.

Felipe Massa, Sauber-Petronas B, 1m25.23s, 69
Jean Alesi, Jordan-Honda B, 1m25.64s, 68
Darren Manning, BAR-Honda B, 1m26.10s, 41
Anthony Davidson, BAR-Honda B, 1m26.43s, 43
Justin Wilson, Jordan-Honda B, 1m27.61s, 78