Pizzonia Tops the Times at Silverstone - Day One

Brazilian driver Antonio Pizzonia set the fastest time of the year in testing at the Silverstone circuit on the opening day of work at the British track.

The Williams test driver, working with the FW26, posted a best time of 1:18.275 as he finished on top of the timesheets in the first testing session of the week. The previous fastest time, 1:19.542, had been set by Japanese BAR driver Takuma Sato earlier this year.

Pizzonia's lap was also faster than the official track record, set the Juan Pablo Montoya in 2002. The test driver outpaced his Williams teammate, Spaniard Marc Gene.

Renault driver Jarno Trulli posted the third quickest time, while teammate Franck Montagny was slowest as both conducted set-up work before concentrating on testing a variety of new aerodynamic developments in the R24.

They also worked on a number of programmes concentrating on the ride of the car and tested different tyre compounds.

"A productive first day for us here in Silverstone," said Renault's chief test engineer Christian Silk. "The expected bad weather did not materialise, and we were able to complete our programmes with both cars. The aerodynamic work provided some interesting results for analysis and, in spite of several small niggles, the cars' reliability was faultless.

"The forecast is not promising for tomorrow either, but we hope for dry conditions in order to continue making progress."

The McLaren team kicked off this week's programme with both David Coulthard and test driver Alexander Wurz carrying out testing duties at the wheel of the MP4-19. The Austrian was the quickest of the two, with Coulthard finishing less than a tenth of a second behind.

Testing at Silverstone continues tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Pizzonia Williams-BMW (M) 1:18.275 100 2. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:18.615 66 3. Trulli Renault (M) 1:18.724 79 4. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:19.342 41 5. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:19.403 45 6. Montagny Renault (M) 1:19.719 92 All Timing Unofficial

Visit Atlas F1's Testing Center for further information