Villeneuve upbeat after Estoril test

Villeneuve missed Wednesday's afternoon session with an electrical problem, but still managed to set a new unofficial track record for the former GP venue. His best lap of 1m17.090s was half a second up on Panis' mark from previous day.

"I've had a positive test here in Estoril and we have made set-up and electronic control improvements," said Panis. "We will have a little more power from the engine in Austria, which is important because the A1-Ring is a power circuit. I think we have good reason to be optimistic if we continue to make progress throughout the weekend there."

Also in action at Estoril was Toyota test driver Ryan Briscoe, who concluded his three-day test. Yet again the Australian F3000 driver had a packed schedule and he did another race distance. The changeable weather also meant he was able to get some experience of driving an F1 car in the wet.

"It was good to get some running in wet conditions," he said. "We concentrated our efforts today on mechanical and aerodynamic set up in the wet. We also did some work on launch and traction control. Generally the three-day test has been positive."

Briscoe's best lap was 1m21.700s, while Villeneuve's best for the day was 1m20.247s.

Ferrari continued its exhaustive testing regime as Rubens Barrichello took up duties at Mugello in Italy. He continued the set-up work Luca Badoer conducted at Fiorano on the previous days, although his running was interrupted by rain during the morning session. He eventually managed 52 laps, setting a best time of 1m24.117s.

Ferrari's second test driver, Luciano Burti, completed his test for the Scuderia at Monza today. The Brazilian again drove the team's 2001 car, covering 86 laps of tyre evaluation in preparation for the Italian and Canadian Grands Prix.