Tuesday April 25th, 2000

Arrows driver Jos Verstappen was fastest as Formula One testing resumed at Barcelona today.

Weather conditions were very warm, ideal conditions for testing.

Verstappen drove the Arrows test car to the fastest time of the day, a car that includes new electronic components and software. He tested tyre compounds for Bridgestone in readiness for next week's Grand Prix, as well as working through an aerodynamic and chassis testing program. Some time was lost when Verstappen spun into a gravel trap early in the morning but the car only sustained minor damage which was easily fixed.

Third fastest was Pedro Diniz in his Sauber-Petronas, who worked on qualifying and race set-up after the team successfully ran their new aerodynamic package at Silverstone. Pedro Diniz: "I was glad that I could be out on the track practically non-stop today, from 9am to 6pm. The team prepared the car for a race distance, and I was able to set some competitive lap times. I will continue to use a race configuration engine tomorrow for my second day of testing."

Fourth and eighth fastest were the two Benetton-Playlife cars of Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz. Fisichella worked on general set-up and suspension settings, whilst Wurz suffered an oil leak, causing him to spin during the morning. The engine was changed but progress on his car was hampered by hydraulic problems throughout the day.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                Time    
 1.  Verstappen    Arrows-Supertec     1:22.57
 2.  Panis         McLaren-Mercedes    1:22.87
 3.  Diniz         Sauber-Petronas     1:23.00  
 4.  Fisichella    Benetton-Playlife   1:23.36
 5.  Burti         Jaguar-Cosworth     1:23.56
 6.  Heidfeld      Prost-Peugeot       1:23.71
 7.  Irvine        Jaguar-Cosworth     1:23.91
 8.  Wurz          Benetton-Playlife   1:24.08

The 2000 fastest testing time is 1:19.633 (P. de la Rosa)
The 1999 fastest testing time is 1:20.591 (R. Barrichello)