27/01/2005
NEWS STORY
Red Bull's David Coulthard set the pace on the third day of testing at Valencia.
Once again, conditions at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valencia Ricardo Tormo were uncharacteristically cold, with temperatures reaching no higher than 6 degrees C, and strong icy winds continuing to blast the track, though not quite as much as on previous days.
Coulthard, who was joined by Vitantonio Liuzzi, was almost certainly running on low fuel to set such a pace, but it was a strong performance nonetheless, and is sure to help the Milton Keynes outfit attract the interest of potential sponsors. However, the day was not without its problems, with both Red Bull drivers stopping out on track as a result of technical failures.
Second quickest, and only 0.272s off the pace, was Antonio Pizzonia, who faces an agonizing weekend as WilliamsF1 decides who will partner Mark Webber this season. The Brazilian focussed on tyre compounds, completing 97 laps and posting a best time of, 1:09.447.
Antonio was joined by 2004 ETCC champion Andy Priaulx, who was getting his first taste of Formula One power. The Jersey-born driver, who was given today's test in reward for winning the 2004 ETCC for BMW, spent his time familiarising himself with the car, completing 64 laps.
"It was the first time for me behind the wheel of a current Formula One car and it was a great experience," he said, at the end of the session, "and completely different in every respect to anything I have done in the past.
"In the weeks before the test, I did special exercises under the guidance of a physiotherapist in order to prepare my neck muscles. It was worth every effort, as my neck hasn't hurt at all. A few weeks ago, I also arranged a test with my former Formula 3 team to refresh my left-foot-braking, I'm pleased I did! I'd like to have achieved a better lap time, but, just as I went out on fresh tyres, testing was interrupted due to an incident on the track."
Renault had Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella on duty. The Spaniard completed a third day at the wheel of the new R25 after restricted running earlier in the week. He began working on set-up changes and assessing the car's behaviour on longer runs. This allowed the team to begin establishing baseline knowledge about the new car.
Giancarlo Fisichella completed a final day at the wheel of the R24, with his main work being a race distance run as part of a tyre development programme. He will drive the R25 tomorrow (Friday).
"We made good progress with our programme today and began learning about the new car's characteristics," said chief test engineer, Christian Silk. "At this stage, it is important to properly understand the effect of set-up changes and to establish references for our future work. With this in mind, it was encouraging to see the car perform consistently on long runs, and that Fernando was pleased with the handling. Giancarlo is looking forward to his first drive tomorrow."
Fifth quickest was Jarno Trulli, his first day at the wheel this week. The Italian, who was joined by Olivier Panis, completed the most laps (111) as he concentrated on tyres and set-ups, unfortunately he lost track-time following an engine failure.
Talking of engine failures brings us neatly back to Honda, which suffered yet another spectacular detonation. Since the launch of the 007, the team has suffered three major engine failures, ahead of a season when engines must last for two weekends.
The problems didn't stop there for the Brackley team, with Jenson Button having to end his test prematurely following muscle pains. Consequently, Takuma Sato will replace the English driver on Friday.