Monza test - day three: 3 September.

Fernando Alonso wrapped up the Monza group test by topping the times in his Renault, becoming the third different driver in as many days to head the field in the test - following on from Michael Schumacher and Antonio Pizzonia.

Having languished down the order on days one and two, the Renaults appeared a lot closer to the front in the final session, despite both Alonso and team-mate Jarno Trulli - who was fifth fastest - concentrating largely on set-ups for the forthcoming Italian Grand Prix. Both drivers reported that they had made good improvements to the car's handling during the day, with Alonso eventually stopping the clocks at 1min 20.611secs..

"Our final day of testing at Monza was relatively trouble-free, and both drivers have achieved a balance they are reasonably happy with," commented chief test engineer Christian Silk, "This will provide a good starting point for them in free practice next Friday. Overall, we have had a successful week, making our tyre choice for the grand prix, and without experiencing any mechanical problems with the engines at all, which is an extremely encouraging sign."

Jenson Button continued BAR's good showing at the test, annexing second place, just 0.081secs behind the Renault. The Briton shared the team's workload with countryman Anthony Davidson, after Takuma Sato completed his scheduled programme on Thursday afternoon. The Japanese driver was due to head for Santa Pod Raceway to complete the team's race car shakedown for Monza. Davidson was sixth fastest on the day.

Williams-BMW filled places three and four, with 2001 Monza race winner Juan Montoya coming out narrowly ahead of Thursday pace-setter Antonio Pizzonia. Neither driver got close to the Brazilian's time from 24 hours earlier, but Montoya clocked 1min 20.770secs to lie just over a tenth off the pace. Pizzonia was a further three-tenths adrift, lapping a full second from the mark he achieved on day two.

"We've had a productive test," technical director Sam Michael summed up, "We worked on ensuring that we have a solid brake and engine cooling package for next weekend's grand prix, while also evaluating different mechanical and aerodynamic set-ups.

"Michelin have produced some new compounds for Monza to give us a competitive tyre for the race. Following the tyre problem that Juan Pablo had at Spa - which appears to have been caused by external influences rather than any specific design problem - we tested some tyres here that featured some changes. The tyres are similar to those we used at Spa, however, as the changes are just precautionary rather than a requirement for safety."

Kimi Raikkonen, who finished second to Pizzonia on Thursday, was a little further back on the second day of his test, and only narrowly out-gunned McLaren test driver Alex Wurz, who returned after a day off to replace David Coulthard.

The top ten was completed by Luca Badoer and Christian Klien, with the Italian pushing Wurz all the way on times. Conflicting reports emanated from Italy in the wake of Michael Schumacher's big crash on Thursday, suggesting that Badoer was always scheduled to replace the world champion, but alongside Rubens Barrichello. In the event, Badoer lapped alone for the Scuderia, concentrating mainly on the tyre development and car set-up programmes begun by the race regulars.

Klien continued to partner - and out-pace - Mark Webber in the Jaguar pit, and ended a productive test by clocking a session-high 122 laps in the R5. Both drivers finished their programme of tyre and set-up evaluations, with Klien lapping slightly slower than he had on day two, but still having half a second on his team-mate.

Felipe Massa took over the sole Sauber from Giancarlo Fisichella, who had completed the opening two days of testing in preparation for his home grand prix. Massa ran over the information accumulated by the Italian, before working on his own adjustments.

"We used our final test day to undertake a data verification with Felipe, which also included further long-runs in conjunction with our Bridgestone tyre work," confirmed race engineer Giampaolo Dall'Ara, "We were able to make our decisions concerning brakes and tyres for our two drivers for Monza, and also finalised the assessment of our low downforce package. We completed our planned programme without major technical problems and made some good progress."

The Toyotas of Olivier Panis and Ricardo Zonta sandwiched Webber behind the Sauber, with the Frenchman picking up a chunk of time. Zonta, meanwhile, lapped close to the mark he had set on Thursday. Panis, however, suffered an off late on in the day, again - after Schumacher's accident on Thursday - attributed to tyre problems.

"Our plan for the week was to carry out an important tyre test and to tune the car with some new parts in preparation for next week's Italian Grand Prix - and we've managed to finish most of the plan," Panis reported, "The tyres we have been testing for the race look quite good, so overall it's not been a bad week.

"Unfortunately, late on, I was approaching the second chicane when I went off after suffering a depressurisation of my left rear tyre, probably caused by a problem with the valve. It was an abrupt end to the test but, thankfully, I am completely okay."

Zonta suffered his problems on Thursday, and a better final day boosted his morale after the disappointment of missing out on fourth place in the recent Belgian Grand Prix.

"I stopped out on the circuit on Thursday morning with a hydraulic leak, but today was a better day, with much more mileage completed," the Brazilian confirmed, "That gave us time to improve the balance and carry out a lot of back-to-back runs, looking mainly at tyres and traction control."

The timesheets showed Nick Heidfeld bringing up the rear, having taken over the lone Jordan from test driver Timo Glock - who, in turn, had replaced Giorgio Pantano as Jordan spread its workload equally. Heidfeld managed to lap almost half a second quicker than Glock had managed as he completed the team's tyre and development programmes. In all, the team reported nearly 1500km of trouble-free running with the EJ14.

Leading times: day three - Monza.

Fernando Alonso Renault-Renault 1m 20.611s 105 laps Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1m 20.692s 94 laps Juan Montoya Williams-BMW 1m 20.770s 49 laps Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW 1m 21.035s 62 laps Jarno Trulli Renault-Renault 1m 21.035s 57 laps Anthony Davidson BAR-Honda 1m 21.131s 63 laps Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes 1m 21.152s 91 laps Alex Wurz McLaren-Mercedes 1m 21.234s 79 laps Luca Badoer Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 21.238s 98 laps *Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth 1m 21.569s 122 laps Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 1m 21.630s 95 laps *Olivier Panis Toyota-Toyota 1m 21.996s 73 laps Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1m 22.113s 94 laps Ricardo Zonta Toyota-Toyota 1m 22.271s 87 laps Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford 1m 23.503s 76 laps *

[* denotes Bridgestone tyres, all others on Michelin]

All times unofficial - courtesy of Sauber.

Comparative lap times:

Italian GP 2003:

Fastest lap: Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1min 21.832secs Pole position: Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1min 20.963secs