McLaren's day 1 at Silverstone

The Team McLaren Mercedes test team have returned to the UK this week for three days of running at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire. The session marks the only opportunity for Team McLaren Mercedes to test at the home of the British Grand Prix prior to the 2006 race.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who will be present all week, was joined by Pedro de la Rosa today to kick off the test in two MP4-21s. Work for the week will focus on general set-up, Michelin tyre selection for both the Spanish and British Grands Prix and the development programme with the Mercedes-Benz V8.

Juan Pablo set the fastest time of the day, a 1m21.076, as he completed 41 laps and 210km at Silverstone. Running for the Colombian was limited during the morning as light rain showers fell on the circuit. The track conditions were not appropriate for either intermediate or full wet testing and therefore Juan Pablo, who was focusing on Michelin work, would not have been able to obtain any worthwhile results from running.

Pedro covered over 195km during the course of 38 laps and his quickest time of the day, a 1m23.527, saw him end the session in 13th position. The Spaniard was on track during both the morning and afternoon sessions, as he was operating a different programme to Juan Pablo.

The test team will continue running at Silverstone tomorrow with Kimi Raikkonen joining Juan Pablo on track.