Raikkonen Leads the Way at Jerez

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen returned to work in promising fashion after topping the times on Thursday at the Jerez circuit, where seven Formula One teams were in action as they prepare for the 2005 season.

Raikkonen, driving for the first time since the end of the 2004 season in Brazil, managed a quickest time of 1:16.658 after 98 laps of the Spanish track. The Finn took over from teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, while Austrian tester Alex Wurz replaced Pedro de la Rosa in the second McLaren MP4-19B.

McLaren were again running special infra red cameras to evaluate tyre temperatures while running on track, mounted on the sidepods, with one camera looking at the each tyre.

Toyota drivers Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher, with the TF104B, had a strong session and finished second and third fastest respectively for the Japanese squad.

Nick Heidfeld was back in action with the Williams team following his first test at Jerez last week. The German driver, who had been hampered by the rain during his debut test with the BMW-powered squad, had a productive session today and could complete a total of 127 laps, finishing as fifth quickest, less than a tenth of a second behind Australian Mark Webber.

Renault's Franck Montagny and Giancarlo Fisichella continued working on tyre testing for Michelin, this time completing longer runs than yesterday at the wheel of the R24. The French test driver was the busiest man again with 152 laps while Fisichella covered just 20.

David Coulthard completed his second day of testing with the Red Bull Racing team, the Scot again being the quickest of the three men from the Cosworth-powered squad working at Jerez. Coulthard outpaced both Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi.

The BAR-Honda team were, like Red Bull, working with three drivers, with Jenson Button finishing as the fastest of the trio as he continued to put miles in the 2005 concept car. Test drivers Anthony Davidson and Enrique Bernoldi drove the 006 chassis.

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello also got back to work for the first time since the end season, joining Ferrari's test driver Luca Badoer as the only Bridgestone runners at the Spanish circuit. Barrichello posted the 11th fastest time of the session, with Badoer down in 14th place.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:16.658 98 2. Trulli Toyota (M) 1:16.936 70 3. R.Schumacher Toyota (M) 1:17.114 87 4. Webber Williams-BMW (M) 1:17.514 73 5. Heidfeld Williams-BMW (M) 1:17.558 127 6. Montagny Renault (M) 1:17.726 152 7. Fisichella Renault (M) 1:17.851 20 8. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:17.889 81 9. Coulthard Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:18.108 52 10. Button BAR-Honda (M) 1:18.165 102 11. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:18.519 67 12. Klien Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:18.614 29 13. Liuzzi Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:18.786 64 14. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:18.808 86 15. Davidson BAR-Honda (M) 1:18.898 43 16. Bernoldi BAR-Honda (M) 1:19.056 55 All Timing Unofficial

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