FEBRUARY 14, 2001

Coulthard scores a testing hat-trick

MCLAREN's David Coulthard topped the times for the third successive day as wet weather marred testing at Valencia on Wednesday.

MCLAREN's David Coulthard topped the times for the third successive day as wet weather marred testing at Valencia on Wednesday.

The Scot set a blistering time in the new MP4/16, and ended the day just under two seconds faster than the rest of the field. McLaren tester Alexander Wurz made it a one-two for the Woking-based outfit.

The wet weather was not welcome to most drivers, and it caused disappointment for both Sauber drivers. Nick Heidfeld managed only fifth best time, while his inexperienced team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was just one place ahead of Irvine.

"It might be St. Valentines day, but it has been a frustrating test for me, and today's weather continued that trend just when I wanted to push hard," said Heidfeld.

Once again Jaguar found themselves at the wrong end of the time sheets despite Eddie Irvine being able to put in some 69 laps.

Wednesday's testing times from Valencia:

POS DRIVER ENTRANT TIME
David Coulthard McLaren 1:29.32
Alexander Wurz McLaren 1:31.30
Jos Verstappen Arrows 1:31.30
Jarno Trulli Jordan 1:31.97
Nick Heidfeld Sauber 1:32.06
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jordan 1:32.07
Enrique Bernoldi Arrows 1:33.00
Luciano Burti Jaguar 1:34.04
Kimi Raikkonen Sauber 1:34.39
10  Eddie Irvine Jaguar 1:35.24