12/01/2006
NEWS STORY
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On his first day at work with Honda, and his first time back in an F1 car since October, Rubens Barrichello made an impressive return at Jerez today.
The Brazilian, posted 1:16.732, to equal, to one-thousandth-of-a-second, the time posted by McLaren test driver, Pedro de la Rosa, on the third day of pre-season testing at the Spanish track at Jerez.
The Brazilian began the day running in the 2005 car with a (restricted) V10 engine. At the start of the session, the circuit was cold, so he chose to complete a series of installation runs to acclimatise to the car and establish his driving position. Once the circuit had warmed up however, he was able to go back out and complete his first full runs to evaluate the car.
In the afternoon, the former Ferrari star completed a further three runs in the 2005 car, continuing his set-up work. He totalled 45 laps, concluding the team's V10 programme. He then moved to the 2006 'concept' chassis for his first run in a V8-engined car. Unfortunately, frequent red lights limited his running to 8 laps but it was enough to give him the chance to learn the car before his first full day with the V8 car tomorrow (Friday).
Meanwhile, Anthony Davidson continued in the second 'concept' car. His early morning runs were also confined to system checks due to the cold weather. Once the track had warmed up sufficiently he completed a couple of set-up runs before turning to a tyre evaluation programme.
McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa, was once again partnered by Gary Paffett, as Michelin tyre testing dominated the days running as the team prepares for the change in tyre regulations.
Pedro was fastest driver of the day in the MP4-20 V10, while team-mate Gary was in 13th, having posted a best time of 1:20.136.
30 minutes from the end of the session, Pedro suffered an engine failure, which led to the session being red-flagged for a short period of time. The engine had covered close to 1,500km.
With Michael Schumacher and Luca Badoer at Madonna di Campiglio, Ferrari relied on Marc Gene, who took to the track to continue with the Italian team's development programme.
The Spanish test driver had two cars at his disposal and took turns at the wheel of both of them: an F2004 with a V8 engine and an F2005 fitted with a regulated power V10. In the former, he covered 49 laps, the quickest in 1:18.'548 and in the other car, he did 47 laps, with a best time of 1:20.'538.
Fourth quickest was 2005 world Champion, Fernando Alonso, getting his first drive in Renault's 2006 challenger.
The Spaniard had a slow start to the day, after a muscular pain saw him sit out the morning while he received treatment. During this time, Giancarlo Fisichella drove the car in order to conduct systems checks and log data.
Fernando was able to begin working again at lunchtime, suffering no after effects, and began his programme in the new car with a series of short familiarisation runs to get a feel for the machine. After that, he began endurance running in the afternoon as the team once again aimed to maximise mileage with the new package. The Spaniard completed several long runs, in spite of his running being fragmented owing to several red flags.
Fisichella ran with the R25 throughout the day, using the reliable platform of the old car to conduct tyre development with Michelin, working on both short and long runs.
"I had a very good first day in the R26 today," said the World Champion. "I was hoping that it would feel similar to the R25, because that was a very good car for the drivers. The good news for me is that the new car was still easy to drive, it was consistent when we did some longer runs, and we didn't have any mechanical problems today.
"It was the first test with the new V8 engine," he continued, "we didn't have any problems, and the feeling was similar to the simulation we have been running this winter. That was good because it means we have already prepared well in our testing.
"The performance of the package felt good, although at such an early stage there are still lots of areas to improve. But this is the first January test with a brand new car. Taking that into account, I think we are in a strong position."
WilliamsF1 had both of its 2006 drivers, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, on duty.
"Both drivers had a productive morning," said Sam Michael, "working through various se-up changes and aero tests. This afternoon, we experienced some gearbox problems that are minor in terms of the solution required, but they caused us to lose track time. Mark will continue his programme tomorrow and Alex will be back in the other car."
Toyota completed the final day of its programme in Jerez and had another productive day furthering its knowledge of the TF106 chassis and Bridgestone tyres.
Jarno Trulli and Ricardo Zonta worked through a number of set-up configurations, interrupted only by a couple of spins that were partly the result of strong gusting tailwinds that arrived towards the end of the day. Trulli reported that the TF106 is a definite step forward mechanically, while Zonta has been highly impressed by both the performance and reliability of the 2.4-litre V8.
The team will now conduct its official introduction to the year with an event in France on Saturday before returning to work at Jerez next week.
"In general we have had a productive test with all three drivers," said Mike Gascoyne. "The main focus for us at the moment is to continue the development work with Bridgestone based on what we learned before Christmas. We have found some clear directions to improve our consistency in particular. Our first lap pace has looked pretty good too, and there have been no major reliability issues.
"Overall it has been a rewarding three days and we look forward to continuing the progress here in Jerez next week. We feel that we are in a good position and pretty confident for the season. We have run our new mechanical components early and the drivers are all positive about those improvements. The latest aerodynamic parts will be brought to the car in February before the team leaves for the first race in Bahrain."
BMW's Nick Heidfeld was among the busiest drivers today, completing 79 laps. The team conducted a comprehensive tyre-testing programme as various specifications were evaluated. Tomorrow, brake testing, set-up verification and systems checks are on the agenda.
Having previously completed a couple of days testing with Toro Rosso at the end of 2005, Scott Speed returned to the cockpit for the second and final day of the Spanish test, taking over from Tonio Liuzzi.
"Things did not go as well as yesterday," admitted Team Principal, Franz Tost. "This was primarily because of several red flag periods caused by other cars. But we also lost about an hour with a fuel pressure problem while Scott was doing some set-up work, as we then had to change the fuel pump.
"Nevertheless Scott was able to do a reasonable number of laps and, overall, these two days have given us a good basis on which to prepare for our next test, in Barcelona."
In terms of distance covered, today was the most encouraging day in the Red Bull RB2's short life to date. Christian Klien, having his first ever run in the new car, took over from David Coulthard and put around 200 kilometres on the clock, the most it has ever done in one day.
"This morning, we had a problem with the transmission lubrication system, that cost us some track time," commented Head of Race and Test Engineering, Paul Monaghan. "In the afternoon, Christian was settling in to the new car and we had made progress on the set-up front.
"We were hoping to validate that with a better time at the end of the session, but one of many red flags on the day, spoilt our plan!"
Klien is back on track tomorrow for the final day of the test.
Weather
Air temperature: 8-18 C
Track temperature: 8-23 C.
Clear skies
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