Toyota test drivers at Monza.

After a strong double finish at last week's Belgian Grand Prix, Panasonic Toyota Racing began a four-day test session at the Autodromo di Monza today [Tuesday].

Toyota's test drivers St?phane Sarrazin and Ryan Briscoe were at the wheel of the TF102s as the team prepares for round 15 of the F1 World Championship, the Italian GP, which takes place in Monza next weekend.

Briscoe set the quicker time of the two Toyota test drivers, completing 31 laps and posting a best time of 1 minute 27.464 seconds.

Briscoe said: "In this morning's session I concentrated my efforts on acquiring data from the track, working more specifically on strategy development. There was some torrential rain in the late morning session and the track stayed wet for the remainder of the day, even if the weather got a bit better."

"We used the opportunity to test our launch control system in the wet conditions, which meant I was just going out on track and straight back in again for most of the afternoon. All in all though it was productive session and I am quite happy."

Team-mate Sarrazin meanwhile notched up 47 laps and posted a best time of 1 minute 28.234 seconds. "Today we carried out tests on some different aerodynamic parts, including a new front wing, which we plan to use for the grand prix next week," noted Sarrazin. "In addition we also did Michelin tyre comparisons in varying conditions throughout the session."

He added: "All day, even before the heavy rain started, the track was quite dirty and slippery, but the bad weather allowed us to carry out our tyre work in wet conditions - something we have not had the chance to do very often this year."

Sarrazin continues the four-day test in Monza tomorrow [Wednesday] when he will be joined by Allan McNish, fresh from his ninth place finish in the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend.

Leading times (3 Sept) - Monza:

1. Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1m 24.595s 57 laps*
2. Anthony Davidson BAR-Honda 1m 25.188s 78 laps*
3. Marc Gen? Williams-BMW 1m 25.217s 56 laps**
4. Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1m 25.387s 49 laps*
5. Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1m 26.082s 45 laps**
6. Patrick Lemarie BAR-Honda 1m 26.347s 35 laps*
7. Jenson Button Renault 1m 26.385s 46 laps**
8. Jarno Trulli Renault 1m 26.994s 51 laps** 9. Ryan Briscoe Toyota 1m 27.464s 31 laps**
10. Stephane Sarrazin Toyota 1m 28.234s 47 laps**
11. David Saalens Minardi-Asiatech 1m 35.149s 22 laps**

Key:
* - Bridgestone tyres
** - Michelin tyres

Weather / Track conditions: Cloudy then rain.