Ralf Stays Ahead at Barcelona - Day Three

German Ralf Schumacher finished on top of the times on the penultimate day of testing at the Barcelona circuit, where the Williams driver was slightly over three tenths of a second slower than the track record held by his brother Michael.

The youngest Schumacher, at the wheel of the BMW-powered FW25, today replaced teammate Juan Pablo Montoya. Schumacher's time of 1:15.352 is the fastest the Williams team have lapped this year at the Barcelona circuit with the new 2003 car.

McLaren's David Coulthard was second quickest on his second day of work at the Spanish track, where he was joined by teammate and Malaysian Grand Prix winner Kimi Raikkonen, who took over from Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa at the wheel of the other MP4/17D. Raikkonen completed 99 laps and finished as sixth fastest.

Frenchman Olivier Panis was third fastest as the Toyota team continued working trying to solve the fuel pressure problems that hit them at the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix.

"After the disappointment and frustration I felt after retiring from the Malaysian Grand Prix, I am so happy that the team has made big progress in finding the cause of the fuel pressure problem we had in Melbourne and Sepang," said Panis.

"We are now very close to coming up with a solution to this problem and that gives me renewed confidence for next weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix. We completed a huge number of laps today working not only towards Brazil, but also for the Spanish Grand Prix in May. Tomorrow is the last day of this test, so I hope we continue in this positive direction."

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello made his debut with the new Ferrari F2003-GA, posting the fourth fastest time ahead of teammate Michael Schumacher with the F2002. Barrichello, who suffered a mechanical problem in the morning that was quickly solved by his team, also tested a new HANS device for the Brazilian Grand Prix after being exempt from using it in Malaysia.

"The first test with the new car has gone very well," said Barrichello at the end of the day. "Today I've also tried a new system to fasten HANS to the torso with double belts: I'd say this is a good improvement, and everything should be OK for Interlagos."

Briton Jenson Button and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve where in action for the BAR team today, with the 1997 World Champion only testing in the afternoon session. Button was nearly a second quicker as both continued working with the Honda-powered 005 chassis.

German Heinz-Harald Frentzen was the busiest man today. The Sauber driver, who will be replaced by teammate Nick Heidfeld tomorrow, completed a total of 111 laps, finishing ahead of Villeneuve.

"After we confirmed the tyre choice for Brazil yesterday we were working on Bridgestone data for Barcelona," said Sauber's head of vehicle engineering Jacky Eeckelaert. "We were also testing several new aerodynamic parts with respect to the Barcelona race and in the afternoon we focused on further aerodynamic checks for the forthcoming Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

"The test day ran without any problems and very smoothly. Overall we are happy with what we achieved today and are satisfied with the improvements we could make with the development of the new aerodynamic parts."

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 1:15.352 59 2. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:16.077 65 3. Panis Toyota (M) 1:17.173 102 4. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:17.353 85 5. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:17.805 98 6. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:18.164 99 7. Button BAR-Honda (B) 1:18.269 51 8. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:18.619 84 9. Frentzen Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:18.757 111 10. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 1:19.244 31 All Timing Unofficial

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