Wednesday May 10th, 2000

McLaren's Mika Hakkinen topped the time sheets for the first day of testing at Jerez yesterday, despite some inclement weather.

Hakkinen was clearly fastest on a day where the weather continually changed, making progress difficult for teams to achieve.

Pedro Diniz was second fastest, focussing on aerodynamic work and tyre evaluation in preparation for the upcoming Grand Prix of Europe next week. The Sauber team were happy with the 92 laps they completed on a circuit which they feel has similar characteristics to the upcoming circuit.

Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz were third and fourth fastest, while Jarno Trulli was fifth fastest, also working on set-up and tyre evaluation for the upcoming race in Germany.

Arrows driver Pedro de la Rosa was seventh fastest, working on electronic and gearbox system settings, as well as tyre evaluation and set-up for the Grand Prix next week.

Yesterday's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                Time    
 1.  Hakkinen      McLaren-Mercedes    1:23.998   
 2.  Diniz         Sauber-Petronas     1:25.670
 3.  Fisichella    Benetton-Playlife   1:25.750   
 4.  Wurz          Benetton-Playlife   1:26.255   
 5.  Trulli        Jordan-Mugen Honda  1:26.259   
 6.  Panis         McLaren-Mercedes    1:26.939   
 7.  de la Rosa    Arrows-Supertec     1:27.364   
 8.  Burti         Jaguar-Cosworth     1:27.679   
 9.  Zonta         BAR-Honda           1:28.619   
10.  Button        Williams-BMW        1:28.862   
11.  Lemarie       BAR-Honda           1:30.847   

The 2000 fastest testing time is 1:23.241 (E. Irvine)
The 1999 fastest testing time is 1:24.276 (R. Schumacher)