Jacques Villeneuve topped the timesheets on the first day of testing at Barcelona.

The Canadian, at the wheel of the new BMW F1.06, posted a best time of 1:17.242, as the German car ran against opposition for the first time.

Villeneuve spent much of the day working on the basic set-up of the new car, while teammate, Nick Heidfeld - at the wheel of a V8 powered C24B - evaluated different aerodynamic configurations. The German also made a number of practice starts before switching to tyre evaluations.

Today marked the track debut of McLaren's 2006 contender, the MP4-21, which completed a 19-lap shakedown in the hands of Pedro de la Rosa.

Work for the Spaniard and the test team focused on initial systems checks, which started the day's session. Pedro completed four single laps during the early part of the day, with the team running checks between each outing. Shortly after midday, the Spaniard completed one longer run of seven laps, which was followed by another of six.

During the latter run, Pedro stopped on track as his MP4-21 had sustained a problem with the oil pressure. The team decided to undertake a full check-up following its initial shakedown and as a result the MP4-21 stayed in the garage for most of the afternoon. However early evening Pedro was able to take the MP4-21 for another run.

The planned programme with MP4-21 will continue for the duration of this week's test in Barcelona, with Juan Pablo Montoya at the wheel tomorrow and Wednesday, and Kimi Raikkonen taking over for Thursday and Friday.

Gary Paffett was also in attendance, running alongside Pedro in the interim MP4-20. Gary, who set the second fastest time, completed 76 laps and a total of 360kms with work continuing to focus on Michelin tyre development.

"Today's first test session with the MP4-21 has provided us with some useful feedback," said de la Rosa. "Unfortunately we had a problem with the oil pressure, which was why I stopped out on track shortly before lunchtime. However this is why we test, to work out any such problems and I think that considering it was a shakedown everything went well."

Weather
Air temperature: 4-16 C
Track temperature: 3-17 C.
Sunny