Thursday Testing Round-Up

Formula One teams continued testing on Thursday at three different circuits, in order to prepare for the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix in ten days time.

At the Mugello track in Italy, the United States Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher was back at the wheel of the Ferrari, working on the set-up and testing a new Bridgestone tyre compound to be used in Japan, setting a fastest lap of 1:24.709.

"Today we definitely made some steps forward thanks to the new tyres," said Schumacher. "There were a few small changes to the car but it was the new tyres which gave the improved performance."

The German driver was almost two seconds faster than Sauber's Kimi Raikkonen, whose best time was 1:26.418. The young Finn outpaced Enrique Bernoldi, the team’s official test driver, who set a fastest lap of 1:26.480.

At Silverstone, Jordan's Jarno Trulli topped the times sheet for the second consecutive day, also working with the new Bridgestone tyre compound.

Trulli´s best lap, 1:26.38, was less than two tenths faster than Eddie Irvine in the Jaguar, with 1:26.53.

Darren Manning and Patrick Lemarie continued with BAR's testing programme, carrying out aerodynamic development, setting best times of 1:27.48 and 1:28.75 respectively.

Finally, Jenson Button was the only driver at the Estoril circuit, in Portugal, with the Williams team. The Brit also tested the new type compound to be use at Suzuka, setting a fastest lap of 1:21.482.