Trulli fastest as rain hits Paul Ricard

UPDATE (GMM) Rain affected the final day of the Paul Ricard group test at Le Castellet, located near Marseille, on Friday.

For the third consecutive day of action in France, the course had switched from a tight Monaco-style layout to the '1EV2 SC' configuration, so that F1's ten teams could simulate the chicanes and straights of Canada.

But not long after Friday's action got running in the morning, the outbursts of rain – often heavy – began.

In a statement, Ferrari said Felipe Massa only managed "a few laps" in the dry.

"In the middle of the afternoon, given the limit on the number of kilometers the rules allow for testing and the worsening weather at the track, it was decided to end the test slightly ahead of schedule," the Italian team explained.

05/16/08 After two days of favorable conditions, rain finally arrived in southern France today, washing out the final day of testing at the Paul Ricard HTTT. With all preparations for the Monaco Grand Prix complete, attention switched to the Canadian round, with little progress being made as a result of the weather.

By the time the teams broke for lunch, Toyota's Jarno Trulli had clocked the fastest time, a 1m31.360s, three tenths quicker than Renault's Nelson Piquet in second, with McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa a further half a second adrift in third.

Unofficial morning times from Paul Ricard

1. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) – 1:31.360, 26 laps
2. Nelson Piquet Jr. (Renault) – 1:31.634, 36 laps
3. Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1:32.143, 36 laps
4. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) – 1:32.480, 49 laps
5. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 1:33.246, 19 laps
6. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber-BMW) – 1:33.371, 30 laps
7. Sébastien Buemi (Red Bull-Renault) – 1:34.064, 16 laps
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India-Ferrari) – 1:34.071, 31 laps
9. Jenson Button (Honda) – 1:36.501, 16 laps
10. Nico Hülkenberg (Williams-Toyota) – 1:44.741, 23 laps