Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve made an impressive debut for Team SAUBER PETRONAS at Barcelona yesterday as the Canadian wraps up the final day of test for his new team.

In a friendly weather around Circuit de Catalunya, Villeneuve covered 95 laps, or 439.565 kilometres in total to set a best time of 1:15.196s; third best amongst the 15 participating Formula 1 testers.

“My first day of testing with SAUBER PETRONAS went really well,” said Villeneuve. “I had spent enough time in the factory for the seat fitting, so I felt immediately comfortable in the car. I did a lot of laps today and the times were good.

“In addition, the car ran absolutely reliable, we had no technical problems whatsoever. So it was really a very productive first day,” he added.

The team ran the first two days of test with Felipe Massa, concentrating on adapting the C23 chassis and aerodynamics to the new Michelin tires. Although Villeneuve could not match his younger team mate’s laptimes of 1:14.939s and 1:14.655s set during the first two days of testing, his best figure was still considerably impressive.

“We worked on the set-up mainly to further adapt the C23 to the Michelin tyres. We have a good basis and I am confident that we can continue this work in a positive way during our next test in Jerez,” summed Villeneuve.

The team will be testing again from 1 to 3 December in Jerez.