2007 World Championship runner-up, Lewis Hamilton, was the pace-setter on the second day of testing at Jerez, where, once again, a number of drivers tried slick tyres in anticipation of their (possible) re-introduction in 2009.

Work for the Englishman, who was partnered by Pedro de la Rosa, was principally focused on aerodynamic testing, as he took to the track for the first time with no driver aids.

de la Rosa spent the morning continuing Tuesday's chassis programme before switching to running with slick tyres during the afternoon.

"It was pretty cool to be back behind the wheel of my car again today," said Hamilton, "it has felt like a very long time since the Brazilian Grand Prix. I have missed my car! I have really kick started my preparations for the 2008 season today and there are only 101 days to go until Australia. I know the time is going to go really quickly, but I am feeling pretty impatient already!

"It was the first time I have driven the car without driver aids and it was good fun," he added. "It does feel quite different and of course there is some adapting to do in driving style, but in GP2 we didn't have driver aids, so I have some recent experience of it. We also did some work on aero and chassis developments for next year's car, it was a productive day and we will continue in the same way tomorrow."

Second quickest was David Coulthard, one of the drivers to run on slicks. According to the Red Bull press release the Scot commented that it reminded him of the final time a Grand Prix was staged here, in 1997 - the race where he was politely asked to hand the European GP win to team-mate Mika Hakkinen.

The day went smoothly for the Scot as he completed an aero test and continued with chassis set-up work. It was a less satisfying day for Mark Webber, who was at the wheel of the car fitted with 2008 electronics. A couple of problems cost him quite a lot of track time.

Both drivers continue testing tomorrow, when they will swap cars.

Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were on duty for Ferrari, the Brazilian having hardly shaken the confetti from his hair following his wedding last week. The Maranello duo continued with the work of developing new components for the forthcoming season, with particular emphasis on electronics. Tomorrow, Massa is joined by Michael Schumacher.

The primary target for Renault, which had Nelson Piquet on duty again, was to test the slicks, of which three sets were available for each car. The team's work focused on data acquisition concerning the tyres' behaviour and the car's handling in this configuration, as well as conducting some comparative tests between 2007 and 2009 configurations in order to collect as much information as possible.

Piquet ultimately ran a slightly shortened programme following a morning spin and subsequent delays, but according to the French outfit he collected interesting data during the course of the session. After covering a total of 71 laps, he finished the day sixth on the timesheets.

"It was frustrating to lose track time this morning," admitted the Brazilian, "but the team did a great job to get the car ready again, and we got back on track before lunch and began the programme. I think we did a good job today, and the team managed to collect some important data."

"From an engineering point of view, working with new tyres always presents an interesting challenge," added Christian Silk. "They demand different set-ups and also require different styles from the drivers, and that is always a productive experience. It could have been a better day for the team, after our delays this morning, but we are still satisfied with what we learned today."

Christian Klien did his job prospects no harm by out-pacing Giancarlo Fisichella, as Force India continued to evaluate potential pilots for 2008. In a "highly productive day of testing", the Milton Keynes based outfit was able to complete its programme, with the Austrian setting the 7th fastest time of the 20 drivers on track.

The duo completed 188 laps in total as they worked on general set-up, chassis development and evaluation of the slick Bridgestone Potenza tyres. As per yesterday's test, both drivers performed solidly over the day and were very evenly matched as they pushed on with their programmes. Klien was the quicker on slick tyres, while Giancarlo was marginally faster on grooved.

Ralf Schumacher and Vitantonio Liuzzi will take over testing duties for the team tomorrow, while Roldan Rodriguez and Giedo van der Garde will finish the test for the team on Friday.