It was the first day of another week of testing for Scuderia Ferrari, the F1 world champion's working today at the Fiorano circuit.

At the Maranello-based marque’s private track, Luca Badoer was at the wheel, working on a development programme of new components, fitted to an F2003-GA.

The Scuderia’s official test driver completed a total of 25 laps, seven of them on the short version of the course. The best time on the day was a 58.460.

Watching the testing was a delegation from the Italian Olympic Committee, headed by President Gianni Petrucci.

Also present were around fifty Italian athletes who won medals at the Athens Olympics in 2004. The delegation met Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo, Managing Director, Jean Todt, Vice-President, Piero Ferrari and the Formula 1 World Champion, Michael Schumacher.

Meanwhile the Ferrari team continue to remain firmly in the F1 headlines. Yesterday, they issued a press statement defending their decision to sign an extension to the Concorde agreement, and denying that they had gone about it in any secretive or underhand way.
 

Today they were left out in the cold as the other nine teams, citing concerns in particular about staff 'burn out' this year with the F1 schedule going up to a record 19 Grands Prix, reaffirmed a memorandum drafted at last year's Brazilian Grand Prix, to limit testing to 30 days per season.

Scuderia Ferrari, who have invested heavily in a testing-led approach, and maintain their own test track, feel that this agreement is unfair, and particularly designed to penalise them.

The Scuderia will resume its testing programme on Friday at the Catalunya Circuit, near Barcelona, On track for Ferrari will be Luca Badoer and Michael Schumacher.

Test Details: Circuit: Fiorano track, 2.976 km – short course 1.413 km; Driver: Luca Badoer; Car: F2003-GA; Weather: air temperature 2°C, track 2/3°C. Overcast.