Firman misses day two of test.

Ralph Firman did not appear for the second of two scheduled days of testing with Jordan at Silverstone yesterday, raising speculation that he may not have fully recovered from the practice accident he suffered in Hungary.

The Briton completed 26 laps on Wednesday as he played himself back in after a near four-week absence from the cockpit, but was replaced by Zsolt Baumgartner - who also stood in for the race in Hungary and Italy that Firman missed - yesterday [Thursday].

Ralph Firman did not appear for the second of two scheduled days of testing with Jordan at Silverstone yesterday, raising speculation that he may not have fully recovered from the practice accident he suffered in Hungary.

The Briton completed 26 laps on Wednesday as he played himself back in after a near four-week absence from the cockpit, but was replaced by Zsolt Baumgartner - who also stood in for the race in Hungary and Italy that Firman missed - yesterday [Thursday].

Having been advised to miss the Monza round by F1 doctor Sid Watkins following persistent vertigo in the week leading up to the race, it has to be suspected that Firman suffered a recurrence of similar concussion symptoms after running at Silverstone. Ralf Schumacher was stood down from the second Williams in Italy after complaining of headaches, following a similarly heavy shunt in pre-race testing. The German, unlike Firman, had been passed fit to resume driving duties at Monza, but apparently suffered a reaction after first qualifying, and was replaced by Marc Gene for the race.

Although Baumgartner only matched the best time posted by Firman on Wednesday, he completed twice as many laps, and it has been suggested that he may continue in the car for both the US and Japanese Grands Prix. The Hungarian's car was noted for having extra sponsorship at Monza, and this may prove to be too irresistible for Jordan in the event that Firman does not make a full recovery.

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