28/04/2005
NEWS STORY
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WilliamsF1 'new boy', Nico Rosberg, was the quickest driver on the third and final day of testing at Silverstone.
Other than a light rain shower at lunchtime, conditions were good for much of the day, with temperatures reaching 16 degrees C.
Nico was joined by WilliamsF1's other test driver, Antonio Pizzonia, as the Grove outfit continued its preparations for next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona.
The German continued to familiarize himself with the FW27, working on set-ups, and in particular, tethers, dampers and various wing settings, while Antonio spent his day focussing on tyre compounds.
"I really enjoyed myself this week," said Rosberg, at the conclusion of the day's activities. "It is unbelievable to drive this car. I think I settled into the team well, and they made me feel really welcome. It didn't take me too long to get used to the FW27 and, when I did, I worked through the programme quite well.
"I'm thrilled to have been given this opportunity as it's so interesting to learn about the workings of an F1 car. At the end of the day, I think I set quite competitive times and didn't make any mistakes over the two sessions so I'm really happy and looking forward to the next test."
"Nico was useful straight away with the test programme," added Sam Michael, "and has already made a direct contribution. As he is now a WilliamsF1 driver he will be testing again in the near future."
Also on duty was Jordan, which had Narain Karthikeyan, Tiago Monteiro and (finally) Nicky Pastorelli on duty.
The Silverstone outfit's programme focussed on conducting tyre testing for Bridgestone and chassis set up work in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix and forthcoming races.
"Today was my first real test in the car," said Pastorelli, "although I have already done some laps in Barcelona during the winter. It was a good test where we have managed to do everything we wanted, according to our programme. Moreover, we tried a new gearbox and had no problem with it, which is encouraging for the team."
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