Silverstone test, day 1: Alesi fastest

The veteran was not only the fastest, he also completed the most number of laps around the damp circuit in his Jordan. McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz was the next best, just one tenth of a second slower.

Swiss DTM driver Marcel Fassler was due to get his first run in a Formula 1 car, but his test for McLaren-Mercedes was limited to a single installation lap. The team decided that the weather conditions were too tricky for the rookie to show what he could do.

"I am a little bit disappointed, but it is down to the weather that I feel like that," Fassler said. "I can understand why the team didn't want me to run in these conditions. You cannot show too much when it is like this and if you try too hard to make an impression then you can break the car. The decision was the team's, but it is better for both me and them if we wait for better conditions."

Fassler was not sure when he will get another chance to test for the team.

Indian racer Narain Karthikeyan had his first test for Jordan, but his run was truncated by a couple of incidents. He spun at Club corner before lunch, then went off in the afternoon too, causing the first red flag of the day.

Olivier Panis and Wurz also caused the sessions to be stopped. Panis' British American Racing stopped out on the track with a clutch problem, while Wurz had an off at Luffield. Bizarrely, one of his rear wheels hit a fire extinguisher that had been left in front of the barrier! The impact caused no serious damage.

Jean Alesi, Jordan-Honda B, 1m34.03s, 76
Alexander Wurz, McLaren-Mercedes B, 1m34.10s, 57
Jenson Button, Benetton-Renault M, 1m34.17s, 30
Eddie Irvine, Jaguar-Cosworth M, 1m34.82s, 49
Mark Webber, Benetton-Renault M, 1m34.96s, 17
Olivier Panis, BAR-Honda B, 1m35.09s, 40
Pedro de la Rosa, Jaguar-Cosworth M, 1m35.27s, 47
Narain Karthikeyan, Jordan-Honda B, 1m36.02s, 52
Marcel Fassler, McLaren-Mercedes B, no time