Thursday May 30th, 2002

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello set a blistering pace on the final day of testing at the Silverstone circuit, where the Ferrari driver was less than two tenths of a second slower than the current track record at the wheel of the F2002.

Barrichello continued working on set-up work for the British Grand Prix in July, completing a total of 58 laps with a fastest time of 1:20.593, set when the track was dry, as the rain again hampered the progress of the teams present at the track.

Scot Allan McNish was second fastest, the Toyota driver concentrating on tyre testing for French tyre manufacturer Michelin. Despite the weather, McNish was happy with the progress made at the British track throughout the day.

"It was another day fragmented by the weather," McNish said. "We continued to try and get our tyre test done and in the end we did a limited programme. However things are shaping up well and the car was feeling good today.

"Personally it has been nice to be back on home soil and I am looking forward to the next few races."

Renault test driver Fernando Alonso tried out Jaguar's R3 Formula One car at the wet and windy circuit, and he was fourth quickest. The Spaniard did not talk to reporters afterwards but a Jaguar spokesman described the session as 'a healthy day's work' with the 20-year-old completing 54 laps.

The Spaniard, who drove for Minardi last season and is eager to return to racing, was made available to Jaguar as a benchmark for comparisons with their own young drivers. Alonso was impressive, outpacing Jaguar driver Pedro de la Rosa.

The Renault team took advantage of the conditions to conduct wet and intermediate tyre development programmes for Michelin, whilst also conducting set-up work aimed at next weekend's race in Canada, and the forthcoming British Grand Prix.

Both Italian Jarno Trulli and Briton Jenson Button also continued electronic systems development on both cars.

"Although the weather has meant we haven't done as much running as we would have liked this week, we are nevertheless pleased with what we have achieved," said Renault's technical director Mike Gascoyne. "We have established base-line set-ups for Canada and Silverstone, as well as conducting useful development of electronic systems."

After two days of work with Brazilian Felipe Massa at the wheel, the Sauber team's testing duties were carried out by Nick Heidfeld, who replaced his teammate as the Swiss squad continued their preparations for the Canadian Grand Prix next week.

The German, who posted the 12th quickest time of the day, suffered a bizarre incident, hitting a bird with his helmet.

"The most interesting part of my day was when I hit a black bird or a crow just before Bridge corner," said Heidfeld. "It just flew straight into my helmet. But when I came into the garage to check the car, everything was OK.

"The rest of the day was not easy. The circuit would dry out. You'd make a change to the car and then as soon as you went out to try it, it would start to rain again. Every other time the circuit was clear there would be a red flag. Ironically the best time of the day was between 1 and 2 pm which was the lunch break."

Mika Salo was 15th quickest in the second of the Toyotas, the Finn concentrating on aerodynamic work at the wheel of the Michelin-shod TF102.

"We have again been affected by the rain today," said Salo. "Between the showers we managed to complete our aerodynamic programme for Canada. We collected all the necessary data and the new front and rear wing assemblies are looking good. I enjoy Montreal and I think the car should go relatively well round there."

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time     Laps
 1.  Barrichello   Ferrari             (B)    1:20.593  58
 2.  McNish        Toyota              (M)    1:22.218  50
 3.  Bernoldi      Arrows-Cosworth     (B)    1:22.732  42
 4.  Alonso        Jaguar-Cosworth     (M)    1:22.784  54
 5.  De la Rosa    Jaguar-Cosworth     (M)    1:22.824  34
 6.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)    1:22.874  48
 7.  Sato          Jordan-Honda        (B)    1:23.054  54
 8.  Villeneuve    BAR-Honda           (B)    1:23.263  55
 9.  Button        Renault             (M)    1:23.268  52
10.  Trulli        Renault             (M)    1:23.327  33
11.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)    1:23.484  43
12.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas     (B)    1:23.947  41
13.  Gene          Williams-BMW        (M)    1:24.062  74
14.  Montoya       Williams-BMW        (M)    1:24.634  37
15.  Salo          Toyota              (M)    1:24.756  34
16.  Lemarie       BAR-Honda           (B)    1:26.144   2

All Timing Unofficial