Silverstone, day 1: Button sets pace

After a disastrous time in San Marino, Irvine's second place was a timely boost for the team. However, it is unlikely to lulled into a false sense of hope following a session where a Williams propped up the times.

Antonio Pizzonia set the day's slowest time, almost two seconds down on Button's best. However the Brazilian covered just 14 laps of the Northamptonshire track. The team's regular test driver Marc Gene did even fewer. The Spaniard escaped with only heavy bruising after crashing at Bridge (for separate story click here.) and he did not run in the afternoon.

Sauber's Nick Heidfeld worked on aerodynamic set-ups to set the third best time, while his team-mate Felipe Massa was in action at Vairano. BAR tester Anthony Davidson had a trouble-free test for once and was fourth quickest, fractionally ahead of Takuma Sato's Jordan.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen covered some much-needed testing miles for Arrows. The German completed 29 laps and was seventh fastest.

Testing continues tomorrow.


Jenson Button Renault M 1m22.947s 23
Eddie Irvine Jaguar M 1m22.957s 36
Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas B 1m22.990s 52
Anthony Davidson BAR-Honda B 1m23.942s 48
Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda B 1m24.032s 46
Marc Gene Williams-BMW M 1m24.347s 13
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth B 1m24.450s 29
Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW M 1m24.713 14

M = Michelin
B = Bridgestone