Barcelona test - day one: 15 February [updated].

Local boy Fernando Alonso came out on top of the timesheets on day one of the latest Formula One group test in Spain, emphasising the recent promise shown by Renault's new R25.

The Spaniard clocked 1min 14.991secs around the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona to head nearest rival Juan Montoya by almost three-tenths. The Colombian, along with fourth fastest team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, added McLaren firmly to the list of contenders in 2005, while Alonso's Renault colleague Giancarlo Fisichella was fifth fastest.

Raikkonen's test though ended on a bad note, when the Finn crashed towards the end of the day severely damaging his MP4-20.

"I don't really know what happened," said Kimi after the incident. "It was quite a big impact and I'm a bit shaken up and have hurt my thumb. I'm not going to be testing tomorrow but hopefully Pedro [de la Rosa] will be able to complete the programme with the repaired car."

Alonso's effort meanwhile made him the first - and so far only - driver to duck below 1min 15secs on the recently re-laid Barcelona track, giving Michelin the unofficial - and most probably temporary - lap record for the new surface.

"This morning's cold conditions meant we focused our programmes around doing plenty of laps with both drivers, and we achieved this, particularly on Fernando's car," summed up Renault's chief test engineer, Christian Silk. "The new track surface at this circuit is constantly picking up grip, so the faster drivers were inevitably on track later in the day, but we hope to see conditions stabilise later in the week.

"Overall, we had a very positive first day here: this is the R25's first visit to Barcelona, and the drivers were happy with stability in the high-speed corners as well as the low-speed balance. Tomorrow, we will concentrate on concluding tyre selection for Melbourne, and continuing our work for Malaysia."

The performances of Renault and McLaren were not without opposition either, for Michael Schumacher was out on track with the revised 2005-spec Ferrari F2004M, but managed only tenth place on the day. Onlookers shouldn't be fooled by the performance, however, for the German clocked up 101 laps in the process, and was undoubtedly working on developments that will have the Scuderia at the front of the field by the end of the test, let alone the start of the new season. After a day's testing in Valencia, Schumacher continued his increasingly busy schedule with a tyre development programme and set-up evaluation.

Splitting the various McLarens and Renault was Toyota test driver Ricardo Zonta, who shrugged off team-mate Jarno Trulli's concerns about the TF105 by taking third spot on the timesheets. The Brazilian clocked a best lap of 1min 15.374secs to squeeze between Montoya and Raikkonen.

Red Bull Racing also enjoyed another morale-boosting day, as both David Coulthard and Vitantonio Liuzzi out-paced the Williams-BMW of Mark Webber, as well as Trulli and Schumacher. Trulli, meanwhile, spent most of the day working with a revised aero package on his Toyota, which had sprouted various appendages - most notably an airbox-mounted mid-wing - since its last outing.

Antonio Pizzonia was on track in the second Williams, his first time back in action since having been passed over in favour of Nick Heidfeld - the Brazilian was only two tenths off his team-mate and Trulli's Toyota.

"Mark and Antonio were testing for the team today, our first day in Barcelona with the FW27," stated Williams' test team manager, Tim Newton. "Since this was Antonio's first outing in the new car, he spent the day getting used to his surroundings and concentrating on set-up work. Mark, meanwhile, also focussed on set-up options as well as completing some tyre testing. Mark will be joined by Nick tomorrow."

Joining the fray for the first time this winter was Jordan, which ran both its new signings, Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro in the new Toyota-powered EJ15. With only a fraction of the running all the others have enjoyed, however, it was little surprise to see the two rookies at the tail of the field.

Jordan's new sporting director Trevor Carlin was pleased with the first day though, there first real test with the EJ15, following its roll-out last week at Silverstone.

"It was the first day of our full test programme and we did very well," said Carlin. "In the next couple of days we want to do as many miles as possible to better understand the interaction of chassis, Toyota engine and Bridgestone tyres. Obviously we have a lot of work still ahead but I am very confident that we will improve dramatically and find ourselves in the position were we want to be on the Melbourne grid."

BAR-Honda were also in action, however they were at Valencia, conducting an exclusive three-day test with Jenson Button and Takuma Sato. Button ran in the 007, working on aerodynamics and tyre testing, while Taku was in the '05 'Concept' car also focusing on tyre testing for Michelin.

Testing continues tomorrow [Wednesday].

Leading times (15 February) - Barcelona:

1. Fernando Alonso Renault-Renault 1min 14.991secs 110 laps
2. Juan Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1min 15.227secs 82 laps
3. Ricardo Zonta Toyota-Toyota 1min 15.374secs 83 laps
4. Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes 1min 15.404secs 71 laps
5. Gianarlo Fisichella Renault-Renault 1min 15.648secs 63 laps
6. David Coulthard Red Bull-Cosworth 1min 15.713secs 92 laps
7. Vitantonio Liuzzi Red Bull-Cosworth 1min 16.143secs 70 laps
8. Mark Webber Williams-BMW 1min 16.509secs 92 laps
9. Jarno Trulli Toyota-Toyota 1min 16.551secs 97 laps
10. Michael Schumacher Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 16.639secs 101 laps#*
11. Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW 1min 16.726secs 54 laps
12. Narain Karthikeyan Jordan-Toyota 1min 20.029secs 81 laps#
13. Tiago Monteiro Jordan-Toyota 1min 22.076secs 86 laps#

[# denotes Bridgestone tyres, all others on Michelin; * denotes 2004 car]

Track conditions: Dry/cloudy.

All times unofficial - courtesy of the Circuit de Catalunya website.

Comparative lap times:

Spanish GP 2004:

Fastest lap: Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1min 17.450secs Pole position: Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1min 15.022secs