Wednesday January 23rd, 2002

Finn Kimi Raikkonen and Brazilian Felipe Massa on Wednesday got behind the wheel of their respective team's new cars for the first time at the Barcelona circuit, where Scot David Coulthard set the fastest time on the third day of testing at the Spanish track.

Raikkonen, who joined the McLaren team this year to replace compatriot Mika Hakkinen, drove the new Mercedes-powered MP4-17 after teammate Coulthard had done so on Monday and Tuesday. The 22-year old Finn, however, was nearly two seconds slower than the Scot driver, who was only four hundreds of a second off the track's record with the MP4-16B chassis.

Brazilian Massa, who was signed by the Sauber team to replace Raikkonen this season, also made his debut at the wheel of the new Ferrari-powered C21. The young driver was third quickest, less than two tenths of a second slower than Raikkonen, as the Swiss team concluded a three-day test.

"After this first test I am full of enthusiasm for the C21," said Massa. "It has more grip and is more stable than the C20, which in turn makes me more confident at the wheel. The Petronas 02A engine is powerful and well integrated, and we have a very competitive package."

Sauber will officially launch the new car on Friday.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time     Laps
 1.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)    1:18.236  86
 2.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)    1:20.215  58
 3.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas     (B)    1:20.376  51 

All Timing Unofficial

Published at 17:08:50 GMT