BMW driver Robert Kubica topped the timesheets here in Monza this afternoon in a session that was interrupted by no less than ten red flags, the young Pole completing a total of 83 laps to record a best overall time of 1:22.243, a mere hundredth of a second faster than Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella. Robert started the day adapting the set-up to his liking, followed by some aerodynamic evaluations and was very pleased with the day’s results.

Meanwhile, teammate Nick Heidfeld worked on a tyre program for Michelin and tested new mechanical components, finishing eighth overall. In the afternoon, both drivers completed a tyre program, carrying out a range of short and long runs in preparation for the Italian Grand Prix. Tomorrow, Sebastian Vettel will take over from Nick, while Robert will continue to drive and the main focus will be on tyre testing.

Yesterday’s fastest man, Felipe Massa was third fastest for the day, the young Brazilian working alongside his teammate, Michael Schumacher, who finished sixth overall, as they both worked  on  the development  of  Bridgestone  tyres  and  on  finding  the  best  set-up  for  the  248  F1  in preparation for the Italian Grand Prix. Felipe was only a fraction of a second faster than Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who finished fourth overall after 93 laps. Michael’s day was delayed somewhat after his car developed hydraulic problems.

Nico Rosberg was on duty for Williams putting in 70 laps of the Italian track to finish fifth, the young German spending his first day here testing several brake cooling options, as well as getting used to the new aero package before starting the usual tyre testing program for Bridgestone. Meanwhile, teammate Mark Webber was fourteenth fastest overall, the Aussie racer concentrating on tyre and set-up work in the morning before finishing the day with further tyre testing in the afternoon.

The two Honda’s of Jens Button and Rubens Barrichello finished the day seventh and ninth respectively with Jarno Trulli tenth for Toyota. The Italian continued his tyre and set-up program from yesterday, while third driver Ricardo Zonta joined today to begin his two day test program all in preparation for the coming race. 

"The testing went fairly well today and we got through a lot in the morning,” said Jarno. “We tested mostly tyre compounds and braking balance. Unfortunately, we experienced an engine failure in the afternoon causing us to loose valuable time. The team worked hard to get my car back on the track and finally we were able to collect some more data for the race here next weekend. The fans were great today, and I am hopeful of collecting some points at my home race."

The two McLaren drivers, Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett were way down the order with the sixteenth and seventeenth recorded times. Both men were concentrating on tyre testing of the Michelin compounds for the Italian Grand Prix next week, alongside assessment of the Monza wing packages, however, Gary's engine failed around 16:30 this afternoon which ended his day prematurely.

Once again Super Aguri finished their day at the very bottom of the timesheets with Sakon Yamamoto behind the wheel. Sakon ran through the team’s planned Italian Grand Prix preparation program and completed a total of 67 laps. Takuma Sato will run in the SA06 tomorrow when he will conclude the test by completing the team’s tyre program.

“SAF1 Team had a good day’s running and got into the test program in preparation for the Monza race,” said Mark Preston, Chief Technical Officer. “Sakon ran through a number of tyre options, the new Monza aero specification package and the normal brake testing required to run at this circuit. I am generally happy with our progress and Takuma will drive tomorrow to continue our tyre testing programme and other set-up work. This is an important test for us as this is the first time that we have been able to properly prepare for a race. It is also the first time that Sakon has been able to run the SA06 new front suspension. We are looking forward to a productive final day tomorrow.”

Pos	Driver	Constructor	Time	Laps
1	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1m22.243	83
2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1m22.257	111
3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1m22.271	78
4	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1m22.317	93
5	Nico Rosberg	Williams F1	1m22.446	70
6	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1m22.528	63
7	Jenson Button	Honda Racing	1m22.631	108
8	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1m22.789	77
9	Rubens Barrichello	Honda Racing	1m22.965	76
10	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1m23.265	44
11	Tonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	1m23.325	53
12	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	1m23.541	54
13	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	1m23.606	48
14	Mark Webber	Williams F1	1m23.720	109
15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	1m23.806	51
16	Pedro de la Rosa	Team McLaren Mercedes	1m23.909	72
17	Gary Paffett	Team McLaren Mercedes	1m23.937	44
18	Christijan Albers	MF1 Racing	1m24.898	77
19	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1m25.098	95
20	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	1m25.654	65

Times courtesy of McLaren