Just 48 hours after the British Grand Prix, Midland F1 was back in action at Silverstone, as the Russian-owned outfit began a three-day test at the Northamptonshire track.

"Fabrizio shook down the team's test chassis and conducted a series of control systems and aero tests to begin our programme for this week," said Dominic Harlow, the Silverstone outfit's race and test engineer. "He proved himself very competent during his first full circuit test for us in 2006, and we look forward to working with him again at the Hungaroring, where he will be the team's third driver at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

"Tiago took over the car for the afternoon session," Harlow continued, "but our planned tyre programme was obviously disrupted by the weather. We did, however, complete some wet setup work which could be useful, given the sometimes unpredictable 'sea climate' in Canada."

"I was unfortunate with the weather today, that's for sure!" said Monteiro. "It's too bad the rain couldn't wait until after my session was over, but that's OK. We managed to make a couple of outings in the dry before running a short control systems programme in the wet, so the day was still reasonably productive."

"I was happy with my work today," said Del Monte. "My times could have been better, but I wanted to drive well inside my abilities so as not to take any undue risks with the car. Now, I am looking forward to helping the team improve further when I drive for them on Friday in Hungary."

Today's Times - All Times Unofficial