Paul Ricard Tests
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Hamilton fastest at Ricard test (Day 1)
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton continued his excellent form to set the fastest time on the first day of this week's Paul Ricard test.
The teams used the twisty 2D configuration at the High Tech Test Track in France as they worked on their set-ups for the forthcoming Monaco Grand Prix, a race Hamilton believes he stands an excellent chance of winning given his Formula 3 and GP2 successes at the track.
Hamilton was a a full 1.3s clear of the competition, with Ralf Schumacher second for Toyota and Renault test driver Nelson Piquet Jr third.
The Brazilian was only fractionally faster than Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Spanish Grand Prix winner Felipe Massa and Honda's Christian Klien.
James Rossiter set the ninth best time on his first appearance for Super Aguri.
Spyker plans to share its car between no fewer than five drivers during the four day test, with Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy in action today.
Although the weather was dry all day, gusty winds made life difficult for the teams.
Testing times from Paul Ricard (Tuesday 15 May)
1. HAMILTON McLaren 1m05.699s
2. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m06.920s
3. PIQUET JR Renault 1m07.056s
4. WEBBER Red Bull 1m07.161s
5. ROSBERG Williams 1m07.189s
6. MASSA Ferrari 1m07.271s
7. KLIEN Honda 1m07.357s
8. GLOCK BMW 1m07.712s
9. ROSSITER Super Aguri 1m08.026s
10. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m08.143s
11. FAUZY Spyker 1m09.443s -
Lewis stays on top on day two
Lewis Hamilton remained on top on the second day of this week's test at Paul Ricard in France.
The McLaren driver improved on his Monday time by 0.085s, with his 1m05.614s lap putting him a tenth clear of Barcelona winner Felipe Massa's Ferrari.
The title rivals were followed by BMW's Robert Kubica, the flying David Coulthard's Red Bull, Takuma Sato impressing again for Super Aguri, and Renault's Heikki Kovalainen.
Champ Car star Sebastien Bourdais could only manage the 10th fastest time as he re-acclimatised to Formula 1 machinery on his second appearance for Toro Rosso.
The teams were all working on their set-ups for the Monaco Grand Prix, using a tight and twisty configuration of the specialist test track that was designed to replicate the demands of the Monte Carlo street circuit.
They focused particularly on tyres, as Bridgestone will use introduce its new super soft compound for the first time at next weekend's race.
The test continues until Friday, but the drivers will switch to a different circuit layout for the remaining two days as they turn their attention to perfecting low-downforce settings ready for the Canadian Grand Prix, which follows Monaco.
Testing times from Paul Ricard (Wednesday 16 May)
1. HAMILTON McLaren 1m05.614s
2. MASSA Ferrari 1m05.755s
3. KUBICA BMW 1m06.185s
4. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m06.201s
5. SATO Super Aguri 1m06.281s
6. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m06.302s
7. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m06.516s
8. WURZ Williams 1m06.576s
9. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m06.598s
10. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m07.743s
11. ALBERS Spyker 1m07.946s
12. SUTIL Spyker 1m08.134s -
Configuration 1E was used yesterday and today to aid preparations for Montreal.
Testing times from Paul Ricard (May 17)
1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m28.833s
2. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m29.039s
3. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m29.070s
4. KUBICA BMW 1m29.157s
5. WEBBER Red Bull 1m29.179s
6 MONTAGNY Toyota 1m29.205s
7. WURZ Williams 1m29.359s
8. DE LA ROSA McLaren 1m29.528s
9. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m30.108s
10. KLIEN Honda 1m30.235s
11. ROSSITER Super Aguri 1m30.286s
12. ALBERS Spyker 1m32.245s
13. WINKELHOCK Spyker 1m32.756s -
And Kimi remained on top of the timesheets on Friday.
Testing times from Paul Ricard - May 18
1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m28.624s
2. FISICHELLA Renault 1m28.641s
3. DE LA ROSA McLaren 1m29.249s
4. MONTAGNY Toyota 1m29.312s
5. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m29.631s
6 COULTHARD Red Bull 1m29.834s
7. ROSSITER Super Aguri 1m29.869s
8. SUTIL Spyker 1m29.869s
9. HEIDFELD BMW 1m29.978s
10. BUTTON Honda 1m29.989s
11. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m29.993s