Rubens sets Mugello record

Ferrari currently has only one F2004 running, and Michael Schumacher has completed much of the early running at Fiorano and Imola. Barrichello drove the machine for the first time at Mugello on Saturday, although his running was hampered by rain.

The weather improved today, allowing Barrichello to set a new record time of 1m18.704s, while completing 74 laps of the track.

"My first impressions [of the car] are all positive," Barrichello told reporters. "The new car seemed to me reactive and improved related to the previous car in every area."



Barrichello also assessed the testing form of Ferrari's closest competition, and reckoned that Renault had so far put in the most convincing performance.

"McLaren has not set thrilling times in Valencia, while in Barcelona they had some technical problems," said Barrichello. "Obviously we do not know if they have lapped with a large quantity of fuel in order to hide their true potential.

"We know that the Williams FW26 is very fast on a single lap, but less so on long distance runs. Renault is the team that has made the biggest impression. It's fast on the single lap and very consistent in race simulations."

Michael Schumacher is due to continue testing work on the F2004 at Fiorano tomorrow.