By Jamie Makin (7/4/2004)
April 8 2004

With the exception of Jordan and Minardi, all the Formula One teams were testing at the Circuit de Catalunya today. For team SAUBER PETRONAS, this was the first testing session they participated in since the start of the season. With the exception of Jordan and Minardi, all the Formula One teams were testing at the Circuit de Catalunya today. For team SAUBER PETRONAS, this was the first testing session they participated in since the start of the season. This is not unusual, as the team's limited resources usually see them opting out of testing during the flyaway races of the season.

Today did not get off to the start the team had hoped for though. Felipe Massa experienced a technical problem at the beginning of the session that forced the team to sit out the morning while the engine was changed. He was able to put in 48 laps in the afternoon with a best time of 1:17.104, but was the slowest out of twelve cars running. This could be due to most of the team's rivals logging over twice as many laps as Massa. Or, it could be related to the team working on race setups in preparation for next month's Spanish Grand Prix.

Most test sessions see the team working on tyre testing with Bridgestone. They began that work today and will continue working with Bridgestone throughout the week. Tomorrow, they will also begin testing new aerodynamic parts, which are among the first to come out of the team's new wind tunnel at their Hinwil base.

Felipe Massa will continue testing on Thursday before turning the car over to Giancarlo Fisichella on Friday.

Test Results - Catalunya - 7/4/2004:

Pos.	Driver	Team	Tyres	Best Time	Laps
1	T. Sato	BAR	Michelin	1:14.687	107
2	J. Trulli	Renault	Michelin	1:14.702	76
3	L. Badoer	Ferrari	Bridgestone	1:14.864	118
4	A. Wurz	McLaren	Michelin	1:14.935	67
5	F. Alonso	Renault	Michelin	1:15.119	55
6	M. Gene	Williams	Michelin	1:15.217	111
7	O. Panis	Toyota	Michelin	1:15.803	100
8	D. Coulthard	McLaren	Michelin	1:15.835	73
9	S. Dixon	Williams	Michelin	1:15.932	97
10	R. Zonta	Toyota	Michelin	1:16.144	97
11	B. Wirdheim	Jaguar	Michelin	1:16.579	100
12	F. Massa	Sauber	Bridgestone	1:17.125	48

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