Kyalami test - day one: 8 February.

Williams and British American Racing returned to action in South Africa today [Thursday], determined to make the most of what they expect to be helpful weather conditions.

Although last year's equivalent test was plagued by heavy rain and cool temperatures, both teams were greeted by warm sunshine on this occasion and were able to complete a full day's work with few problems.

Ralf Schumacher topped the times for the Grove operation, running a full second quicker than team-mate Juan Montoya, who was having to contend with another circuit alien to him after spending his formative years in Europe and America. The Colombian also had a problem with the gearbox on his new FW23-BMW that restricted his early running.

Schumacher, meanwhile, was unhindered in his latest outing with the 2001-spec car and, despite completing fewer laps than Montoya, was ecstatic about the performance he had finally managed to unlock from within the FW23.

"I had a good day today," he grinned, "The FW23 is performing better than the FW22 did here last year, and it's a good platform for us to develop from."

Bringing up the rear of the small, three-car, field was BAR's Olivier Panis, the only member of the Brackley team to venture out on the opening day. The Frenchman completed fewer laps than either Williams driver, and ended the session a further second behind Montoya.

The test continues until 13 February.

Leading performances (8 February):

Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1min 21.909secs 40 lapsJuan Montoya Williams-BMW 1min 22.923secs 47 lapsOlivier Panis BAR-Honda 1min 23.928secs 33 laps

[all drivers using 2001 cars; Williams on Michelin tyres, BAR on Bridgestone]