Ralf Sets the Pace at Monza - Day Two

All Formula One teams except the debt-ridden Arrows squad were in action at the Monza circuit today, working at the fast circuit in preparation for the Italian Grand Prix next week. Just like yesterday, the teams' dry running was restricted due to some heavy showers hampering their progress.

Ralf Schumacher in the first of the Williams was the man setting the pace today, the German driver lapping more than four tenths of a second quicker than the fastest time from yesterday, set by his brother Michael in the Ferrari. The World Champion was second fastest as he continued working on tyre testing and aerodynamic settings for the Italian squad.

The Jaguar team, boosted by Eddie Irvine's sixth place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix last Sunday, joined the test today with both Irvine and teammate Pedro de la Rosa. The Spaniard, concentrating on set-up work and tyre testing, was the quickest of the two, posting the third quickest time while the Irishman was sixth.

The British American Racing tam continued working for the second day, Olivier Panis and Jacques Villeneuve taking over from the team's test drivers Anthony Davidson and Patrick Lemarie. Frenchman Panis was fourth fastest in the Honda-powered car while his Canadian teammate wound up 11th, more than a second behind.

David Coulthard and his McLaren team began testing at Monza after missing the first day of work, the Scot finishing in seventh place ahead of Renault's Jarno Trulli, who was the quickest man for the French squad. The Italian continued the evaluation of Michelin's wet weather tyres during the first part of the day, before concentrating on reliability work in the afternoon, completing a race distance.

"A good day for the team, during which the drivers worked well," said Mike Gascoyne, Renault's technical director at the end of the day. "We had productive results from our tyre work this morning, and successfully completed a full race distance during the afternoon."

Nick Heidfeld was ninth quickest with the only Sauber on track, the German losing two hours of work after part of the engine cover of his car became loose, triggering the fire extinguisher.

"We have made good progress today," said Heidfeld. "However, I lost two hours while the team cleaned the foam in the car from the fire extinguisher. We lost momentum of testing when the track was dry.

"When we started again after 5.30pm a light rain made it very slippery to improve laptime. Overall, I am well pleased with the way the car handled during the tests. We should be in good shape for the race."

Scot Allan McNish replaced Australian Ryan Briscoe at the wheel of the first of the Toyotas on track, the Scot outpacing the Japanese squad's second test driver Stephane Sarrazin, who worked at Monza for the second day in a row. McNish was less than two tenths quicker than the Frenchman.

"It has been a frustrating day due to the wet weather, which has limited the number of laps we could achieve," said McNish. "Having said that, it was good to have the chance to test in the wet conditions, as we may have a similar situation during the Grand Prix weekend. Michelin have brought a new wet weather tyre with them and from what I have seen today, it seems a big improvement."

Alex Yoong returned to the wheel of his Minardi today after missing the last two Grands Prix, where he was replaced by Briton Anthony Davidson. The Malaysian driver, whose team are hoping he regains his confidence with the test after failing to qualify three times this season, finished at the bottom of the times.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 1:24.201 39 2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:24.248 102 3. De la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:24.560 57 4. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 1:24.839 41 5. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:24.842 69 6. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:24.916 39 7. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:25.113 36 8. Trulli Renault (M) 1:25.475 86 9. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:26.080 52 10. Button Renault (M) 1:26.107 56 11. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 1:26.174 49 12. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 1:26.761 70 13. McNish Toyota (M) 1:27.252 37 14. Sarrazin Toyota (M) 1:27.406 62 15. Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 1:28.087 74 All Timing Unofficial

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