Halt in Portugal, progress at other tests

(GMM) Ferrari's decision to abandon the Portimao circuit earlier this week paid off on Thursday, as abysmal weather scuppered the hopes of the five teams present for the test in Portugal.

Thursday's weather meant that race drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Kazuki Nakajima are yet to get any running at the controls of their respective 2009 mounts, but tire supplier Bridgestone's technical manager Tetsuro Kobayashi said the situation – with in-season testing banned – is not yet a concern.

"For Bridgestone we are confident that there will be sufficient testing for teams before the season starts to enable good, safe, racing," he said.

With the medical helicopter unable to fly due to the conditions in Portimao, Ferrari on the other hand finally got in some dry running for its new F60 at Mugello in Italy, despite an hydraulic glitch late in the day.

"Given the conditions experienced in Portimao, I think the decision to come to Mugello was the right one," said Felipe Massa, who managed a full 102 laps before the technical problem.

The Spanish weather for BMW-Sauber's exclusive Valencia test, meanwhile, remained dry on Thursday, and Robert Kubica also collected lots of laps, but the collection of performance data was hindered by the strong winds.