Jerez Test - Day Two: 15 January.

Day two of the battle between Jenson Button and Bruno Junqueira for the second Williams seat again proved to be damp squib, as poor weather and mechanical problems thwarted both drivers on day two of the Jerez test.


This time Button was prevented from venturing onto the circuit as a series of problems saw the car rendered hors de combat for much of the day. Junqueira's first run ended in the gravel trap after the Brazilian was caught out on a damp patch, and his second saw the onset of the problems which confined Button to the pits all afternoon.


Pedro Diniz came out on top of the times on day two, the Brazilian's Sauber pipping Eddie Irvine's Jaguar for the honour by a fraction of a second. After a trying day on Friday, Diniz managed to stay on the circuit in posting his best effort of the off-season so far.


Fellow Brazilian Ricardo Zonta took third spot for BAR, edging out day one pace-setter David Coulthard (McLaren) in the process. Zonta continued an intensive test programme for the Brackley team, with long distances the ultimate aim before the test finishes.


Coulthard and Panis took fourth and fifth on a relatively unsuccessful - in terms of times - day for the McLaren outfit, with Johnny Herbert and Junqueira bringing up the rear for Jaguar and Williams respectively. The former's day was notable only for it being the first time he had been outpaced by new team-mate Irvine since the pair began testing together.



Leading performances (15 January):


Pedro Diniz Sauber-Petronas 1min 25.302secs

Eddie Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth 1min 25.316secs

Ricardo Zonta BAR-Honda 1min 25.627secs

David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes* 1min 26.087secs

Olivier Panis McLaren-Mercedes* 1min 26.194secs

Johnny Herbert Jaguar-Cosworth 1min 26.414secs

Bruno Junqueira Williams-BMW* 1min 37.460secs


[Times courtesy of BAR - * denotes 1999 chassis]