Panis Goes Fastest at Jerez - Day Three

Frenchman Olivier Panis was quickest on the third consecutive day of testing at the Jerez circuit, in Southern Spain.

After two days of rain, the weather finally allowed the track to dry up, and the drivers present could make good progress on this penultimate day of testing before flying to Australia for the season opening Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit.

Panis, who continued with the development of the new Toyota TF103, posted a quickest time of 1:19.080 on the final of the 55 laps he covered today. The Toyota driver outpaced Ferrari's test driver Luca Badoer by nearly half a second, as the Italian tested the new F2003-GA car for the first time.

McLaren drivers David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen were again in action at the wheel of the MP4-17D the Woking-based outfit will use in the first races of the year. The Scot was the fastest of the two, and both him and Raikkonen outpaced Williams' Ralf Schumacher in the only FW25 on track.

The German driver took over from Colombian teammate Juan Pablo Montoya today, and concentrated on doing long runs with the new BMW-powered car.

Testing at Jerez will conclude tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Panis Toyota (M) 1:19.080 55 2. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:19.576 55 3. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:20.062 68 4. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:20.757 41 5. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 1:20.810 99 All Timing Unofficial

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