Williams relieved after weather clears

Having seen most of the week wasted by torrential rain, the skies cleared after lunchtime on Friday, allowing Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button to complete 97 laps between them. Although just 0.3s separated the pair, neither was as fast as Ricardo Zonta's BAR-Honda.

'After so many days of heavy rain, it is a relief to have completed some laps in almost dry conditions,' said Button. 'Given the progress we made this afternoon, it would be a shame to suffer any further because of these weather problems.'

Technical director Patrick Head added that the reliability problems that plagued the team in previous test sessions had been overcome.

'We seem to be managing the oil system problem that was present last month and we are confident that it will not be a problem when we race in Melbourne,' he said. 'We are learning about the car and engine all the time, but need more dry running in an effort to optimise the package.'