WilliamsF1 commences final pre-season test

The day, which was run under cold and at times wet conditions, would see Ralf head the times from his brother Michael in his F2004. Ralf spent the early part of day focusing on setups for the FW26 but with the wet weather the team took the opportunity to test the car with wet weather setups. Ralf would complete fifty seven laps, with a fastest lap time of  1m:21.869.

WilliamsF1 Chief Operations Engineer Sam Michael said: "Today Ralf concentrated on final set-up work in preparation for Melbourne. He also ran the new Michelin dry tyre for Imola which is a useful step forwards. The session was hit by rain in the afternoon, so Ralf spent the time evaluating different Michelin wet tyres and completing further systems checks for the first race.”

Ralf commented on the days testing by saying: "With these conditions, how can one understand what is the potential of the cars? It's impossible. Anyway, I haven't even looked at the F2004. But Ferrari remain the team to beat.

"We'll see about McLaren in the next few days, but there's something I already know: they'll be quick. I won't talk about Renault, while the BAR has always been very fast; we'll have to see whether they will still be during the GP weekends.

"I honestly think that they could fight for victory at some Grands Prix, but I don't think they can fight for the Championship."

The test continues tomorrow, when Juan Pablo Montoya will replace Ralf.

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps

1. R. Schumacher WilliamsF1 BMW (M) 1:21.828 57
2. M. Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:21.918 33
3. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:22.575 27
4. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:23.221 40
5. Panis Toyota (M) 1:24.558 38
6. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:27.004 21