05/12/2004
NEWS STORY
With Sauber 'resting' before the next round of testing, someone other than Jacques Villeneuve and Felipe Massa got to top the timesheets at Jerez.
With just five teams on duty, it was the McLarens of Alexander Wurz and Pedro de la Rosa that dominated the final day of this week's scheduled test, the two silver and black cars split by just 0.016s.
With much of this week's test disrupted by the weather, it had been hoped that on the final day the teams might get some much needed-dry running, but it was not to be. Although the session got underway in bright sunshine, the track was still damp from heavy overnight rain. Then, just as it began to dry, down came the rain again. That said, conditions did improve again towards the end of the session.
Nonetheless, the feeling in Jerez is that this week's test has been pretty much 'washed-out'.
Wurz completed 38 laps, posting a best time of, 1:19.750, while teammate de la Rosa completed 45 laps.
Third quickest was Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who has missed much of this week's test due to an eye problem.
"On the evening after our first day here my eye became very painful," said the Italian. "When I went to see a specialist, he found a tiny piece of metal had lodged in it, which I guess I must have picked up while I was testing. He was able to take it out, but the discomfort meant that I had to miss out on driving the car for two days. I felt okay after that and I was able to resume on the last day."
Having watched from the sidelines for the last two days, the Italian was keen to get back to work, completing the most laps (86).
Luca Badoer was fourth quickest, outpacing fellow Ferrari test driver Marc Gene. Both drivers continued with the development of Bridgestone tyres and new components.
Splitting the two red cars was Giancarlo Fisichella, in the Renault. The Italian, who was joined by Franck Montagny, completed just 20 laps, both drivers clearly frustrated by the weather conditions.
Propping up the timesheets was Robert Doornbos in the Ford powered Jordan. The Dutch driver, who had a big 'moment' in the morning, completed 75 laps, posting a best time of 1:25.459.
Test resumes at Jerez on Tuesday.