Schumacher Sets the Pace at Barcelona - Day Four

Today was the fourth consecutive day of testing at the Barcelona circuit, and Michael Schumacher set the fastest time of the session with the Ferrari.

The German driver, who got back to work on Tuesday after a three-month break, was more than half a second quicker than McLaren driver David Coulthard, who had topped the time sheets during the three previous days.

Schumacher, working on the F1-2000 chassis with new components for the 2001 car, completed a massive 95 laps under warm-weather conditions at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"Schumacher did around 450 kilometres without the slightest technical problem," said Ferrari test team manager Luigi Mazzola. "It seems to me that Michael is in great form, as usual."

Coulthard, who forced the session to be red-flagged after an apparent gearbox failure, was less than a tenth of a second faster than McLaren's test driver Alex Wurz, the Austrian suffering another engine-related problem today.

Dutchman Jos Verstappen replaced Pedro de la Rosa at the wheel of the interim Arrows-AMT A21, setting the fourth quickest time of the day after working on the tyre development programme.

Jordan's Jarno Trulli also replaced teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The Italian's session was interrupted by a mechanical failure on his Jordan-Honda EJ11 and he set the fifth fastest time.

Driving the Prost-Ferrari AP04 for the first time, Argentine driver Gaston Mazzacane set the slowest time of the day, more than three and a half seconds slower than Schumacher.

Today was the final day of testing for McLaren at Barcelona, while BAR and Williams are expected to begin working tomorrow.

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Reuters images from today's test session: &url=3kq940as"> Argentinian Formula One Gaston Mazzacane in Action During Testing &url=3kq940al"> Dutch Jos Verstappen Gestures on the Pitlane During Testing &url=3kq940ae"> German Formula One Driver Michael Schumacher Adjusts his Balaclava &url=3kq940ab"> British Formula One Driver David Coulthard Sits on his Mclaren ------

Today's times:

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