Valencia, day 3: McLaren still P1
Kimi Raikkonen made it two-in-a-row in testing at Valencia, setting the quickest time again today (Thursday) around the wind-swept Spanish track. The Finn put in a hot lap midway through the afternoon of 1m12.453s, comfortably quicker than the best time managed by Juan Pablo Montoya who was next up for Williams
As Britain continues to bask in the glowing sun, the F1 teams have endured miserable conditions in southern Spain. Today was yet another overcast day, with temperatures only creeping up to 18 degrees Celsius when the sun made a rare appearance late in the day. There was light drizzle in the morning, although it was never enough to warrant a change to intermediate tyres.
In cool conditions Bridgestone tends to have the upper hand, but yet again it was a Michelin one-two-three, with Sauber's Felipe Massa the quickest man on Japanese rubber. The young Brazilian was also the quickest driver through the speed trap at the end of the main straight, clocking an impressive 326kph before braking into Turn One.
Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella had his first proper taste of Honda's latest spec engine, and the Italian simply described the V10 as 'not bad'. Olivier Panis, who used the new unit yesterday, reverted to the older spec version and reckons there's definitely a small but significant difference. It was another fraught day for BAR test Anthony Davidson. The Brit had a harmless spin in the morning, and was caught by surprise in the afternoon when a suspected left front suspension breakage pitched him into the gravel.
Fernando Alonso was another spinner, while Montoya caused the session to be extended by 15 minutes after an hydraulic failure left his Williams stranded on the track late in the afternoon. Jaguar's Pedro de la Rosa, who covered some 84 laps during the day, also had a suspected mechanical failure, his R3 giving up the ghost on the pitlane entry in the final minute of the session.
Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes M 1m12.453s 58
Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW M 1m12.736s 60
Alex Wurz McLaren-Mercedes* M 1m13.078s 88
Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas B 1m13.182s 68
Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Honda B 1m13.466s 38
Olivier Panis BAR-Honda B 1m13.480s 59
Allan McNish Toyota M 1m13.624s 58
Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW* M 1m13.740s 83
Jarno Trulli Renault M 1m13.835s 30
Fernando Alonso Renault M 1m14.019s 24
Anthony Davidson BAR-Honda B 1m14.165s 41
Pedro de la Rosa Jaguar M 1m14.491 84
M = Michelin
B = Bridgestone
* denotes 2001 car
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