Monza test - day three: 31 August.

Felipe Massa returned to the top of the timesheets as the Monza group test drew to a close on Thursday, the Turkish Grand Prix winner beating team-mate Michael Schumacher's world championship title rival Fernando Alonso by eight-tenths of a second.

Schumacher took third spot in the second Ferrari, a further couple of tenths back, as the title challengers flexed their muscles for the last time before the next round of the showdown, at the same circuit, in a little over a week's time.

As they had on day two of the test, Massa and Schumacher continued with the programme initiated on Tuesday, centred mainly on the development and choice of Bridgestone tyres for the Italian Grand Prix. The Brazilian clocked a 1min 21.098secs lap, smashing anything previously recorded during the test, while Schumacher was nearly a second slower, despite matching the best times from earlier in the week.

Renault completed its Monza test with Alonso joined by test pilot - and likely 2007 racer - Heikki Kovalainen. The pair ran a total of 228 laps on the day, with Alonso racking up a session-high 124, as they focused primarily on tyre selections. The Spaniard finished the day second on the timesheets, having initially worked on short runs, before moving on to longer distance work in the afternoon. Kovalainen, returning to the test with Giancarlo Fisichella otherwise engaged at Goodwood, also ran a busy tyre programme, comparing Michelin's latest development tyres for performance and consistency. He finished the day twelfth after a trouble-free session.

"This was a good way to round off a busy week, with lots of laps and plenty of new knowledge about the tyres," chief test engineer Christian Silk commented, "This was an important and demanding test for the team, and every member worked to their maximum until the early hours each day, but we have a good starting point from which to approach next week's grand prix. That just goes to show how motivated we are to defend our championship lead!"

Nico Rosberg gave WilliamsF1 something to smile about by racking up fourth fastest time of the day, just 0.056secs shy of Schumacher's best effort, after working on aero development. With Mark Webber's commitments ending on Wednesday, test driver Alex Wurz was back in harness to partner the young German, and posted the seventh fastest lap while working on the team's tyre selection.

"Alex concentrated on comprehensive tyre tests, which took up the bulk of today's running, although there were some new mechanical parts being tested for reliability at the same time," test team manager Mike Condliffe confirmed, "Nico, meanwhile, completed work on the specific aero package we will run next week, as well as running some smaller aero parts, before finishing the remainder of our tyre tests ahead of the race."

Red Bull Racing also got a boost when Christian Klien lapped less than a tenth slower than Rosberg, despite again suffering an interrupted session. The main item on the Austrian's agenda was tyre choice for the Monza race, a programme made more complex by the fact that, since the team was last at the circuit in June, certain sections have been resurfaced.

Klien and team-mate David Coulthard ran different tyre programmes, one working on compounds, the other on construction, all in low downforce configuration, but it was the soon to depart Austrian that came out on top, with DC only eleventh fastest.

"Generally, the test went well, with David getting through his full programme on the first day, when Christian lost a bit of time going off the track and with a gearbox problem," chief test engineer Ian Morgan reported, "Today, Christian was again slightly delayed, this time by a brake problem in the morning and a very minor off right at the end of the day. The engine, however, ran faultlessly throughout, and we are happy with the tyre choices we have made for next weekend."

McLaren had both its test drivers out on track for the final day of its test, with Pedro de la Rosa claiming sixth fastest time and Gary Paffett ninth. Again, the resurfacing work at Monza focused the team's programme, with both drivers completing a lot of laps, despite Paffett suffering an engine failure mid-afternoon.

"Monza is the only circuit that we test on so close to the actual race and, as a result, the programme this week has been very much focused on the Italian Grand Prix," CEO Martin Whitmarsh admitted, "The track has been resurfaced since we were last here, so we have been concentrating particularly on tyre evaluation, although, alongside this, we have been working on the race set-up of both cars, looking at the aerodynamic package for this race, and go into the race next weekend with a greater understanding of what to expect from the circuit.

"Gary's engine was at the end of its life cycle and, as a result, failed this afternoon. However, the mechanics did a fantastic job of changing it in a very short period of time, so that he could go back out towards the end of the session."

Ricardo Zonta squeezed the best of the Toyotas between the two McLarens, taking eighth spot, a tenth ahead of Paffett, as he helped concluded the team's three-day programme. The Brazilian was joined for the final day by Ralf Schumacher, and the pair finished the tyre testing and set-up work begun earlier in the week. Schumacher, however, was forced to curtail his involvement at lunchtime after complaining of not feeling well, leaving Zonta to continue testing different set-ups on both cars in the afternoon session.

"Yesterday, the going was slow due to all the red lights, but today went well," the Brazilian reported, "I was able to do some long runs to evaluate the tyre choice alternatives for the coming race, and we also did some final fine-tuning with the aero package.

"It is unfortunate that we could not run both cars at the same time in the afternoon, but I think the team did a good job preparing the cars so I could drive both and collect the data we needed. As always, it's hard to say how we will do next weekend, but I think we have a competitive package, so we will just have to wait and see."

The other driver to make it into the top ten was Hungarian GP winner Jenson Button, but the Briton was also in the wars, having a sizeable shunt during the afternoon session, the result of rear suspension failure at the Parabolica. Although uninjured, further participation was impossible, leaving Button's contribution at 50 laps and a best time of 1min 22.523secs.

"There has been resurfacing work at Monza and the new asphalt is of a different composition, which has made the tyre testing particularly challenging," an unperturbed Button said later, "However, I believe that we have the data now to make the right choice. Today's problems have been a little disappointing, so we will have to wait and see what the analysis of these issues tells us."

Regular team-mate Rubens Barrichello continued testing in the sister RA106, but managed only 16th best time, some seven-tenths slower than Button. The Brazilian
completed electronic settings work as well a short aero evaluation, but also saw his day interrupted by niggling problems.

"It is always good to test at a circuit before the race and we have got some good data on the tyres and also the controls systems work that I have been doing this week, so in that respect it has been a positive test, but we didn't complete as many laps as we would have liked," he sighed, "However, the car feels good and our pace is reasonable, so we have every reason to look forward to the race next weekend."

Wednesday pacesetters Robert Kubica and BMW Sauber had to settle for 13th best on the final day, after a crash in the morning session temporarily halted his involvement. Like Paffett, however, the Pole had his crew to thank for getting him back on track by two o'clock, allowing him to complete several race preparations and complete a mammoth tyre test that saw him reach 102 laps across six long run during the latter stages.

The perfect weather conditions also gave recently confirmed reserve and test driver Sebastian Vettel to carry out aero and set-up work for the Monza race, as well as systems work that lent special emphasis to the F1.06's gearshift.

The German teenager posted the 15th fastest lap, putting him behind the best of the Toro Rosso cars, driven by Scott Speed. The American clocked 1min 23.111secs to put himself four-tenths clear of team-mate Tonio Liuzzi. Inevitably, the main focus of the day was on tyre choice, with both drivers testing different compounds and constructions. However, both found that the resurfaced sections offered different levels of grip, prompting the team to test two new rear wing configurations.

"The drivers all did a good job, delivering a fault-free performance, which is why we managed to cover in excess of 2000 kilometres," chief engineer Laurent Mekies said, "We have plenty of data to study and all will now depend on what conditions we find here when we return for the race in a week's time."

Tiago Monteiro took over on the final day for Midland MF1, posting a time comparable to Liuzzi's best in the lone M16, and comfortably out-paced Takuma Sato's similarly singular Super Aguri.

"We were able to cover almost 600km today, with a full programme that included tyres, aerodynamic components, brakes and set-up testing," chief engineer Domninic Harlow reported, "Again, we found improvements that translated directly into improved lap times and are confident that we will be continuing our trend of increasing competitiveness at the race here next weekend."

Monteiro was happy to benefit from the M16's reliability to get plenty of miles under his belt after SUnday's early exit in Turkey.

"We had a very productive day, going through a lot of test items and covering pretty much everything that we had wanted to," he echoed, "We focused entirely on long runs and didn't do a qualifying simulation, so the times are not as low as they might have been, which is quite encouraging. But it's very good data for the race, and we're pleased with the near 100 laps we were able to put in today. I think we're in good shape heading into next weekend."

The Super AGuri team was completing a rare appearance at a group test as it attempted to iron out the wrinkles on the updated SA06, with Sato taking over from Sakon Yamamoto to complete its Bridgestone tyre programme, but gain found its running limited by problems.

"It was a positive, but very challenging test," Taku revealed, "It has been good to complete a multi-day test for the first time in the SA06, even though it has been specifically for the Italian Grand Prix.

"This test is very important for next weekend and, although all the teams are in a similar position, we have collected essential data for our cars, tyres and control systems as well. We encountered a few problems this morning, which meant that we had a late start to our running, and a gearbox problem in the afternoon meant that we were unable to complete our planned programme, but we have collected the data we require for the race next week."

Leading times (31 August) - Monza:

Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 21.098secs 84 laps *Fernando Alonso Renault-Renault 1min 21.884secs 124 lapsMichael Schumacher Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 22.014secs 95 laps *Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1min 22.070secs 75 laps *Christian Klien Red Bull-Ferrari 1min 22.135 65 laps Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 1min 22.173secs 86 laps Alex Wurz Williams-Cosworth 1min 22.174secs 87 laps *Ricardo Zonta Toyota-Toyota 1min 22.369secs 103 laps *Gary Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1min 22.435secs 60 laps Jenson Button Honda-Honda 1min 22.523secs 50 laps David Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari 1min 22.639 88 laps Heikki Kovalainen Renault-Renault 1min 22.758secs 94 laps Robert Kubica BMW-Sauber 1min 22.932secs 102 laps Scott Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1min 23.111secs 94 laps Sebastien Vettel BMW-Sauber 1min 23.175secs 111 laps Rubens Barrichello Honda-Honda 1min 23.205secs 34 laps Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1min 23.505secs 51 laps Tiago Monteiro Midland-Toyota 1min 23.771secs 95 laps *Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1min 24.536secs 47 laps *Ralf Schumacher Toyota-Toyota 1min 25.277secs 19 laps *

* denotes Bridgestone tyres; all others Michelin

Weather/Track conditions: Dry, sunny with light winds

all times unofficial - courtesy of WilliamsF1

Comparative lap times:

Italian GP 2005:

Pole position: Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes 1min 20.878secsFastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes 1min 21.504secs