01/02/2006
NEWS STORY
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Conditions on the second day of testing at Valencia were much improved. Although the track was initially damp due to overnight rain, this gave way to bright sunshine and temperatures reaching 20 degrees. This allowed the fifteen drivers, representing eight teams, to get some serious lappery under their belts following Tuesday's rain hit session.
Topping the timesheets was Fernando Alonso in the Renault R26, fresh from the car's Monaco launch. The Spaniard, cheered on by thousands of local fans, was partnered by Heikki Kovalainen, getting his first taste of the new car.
The French team's opening day at Valencia proved positive, in spite of completing little running in the morning owing to an electrical problem on Alonso's car. The problem proved minor, and was quickly identified by the team and after which Fernando completed a tyre development programme with Michelin during the afternoon. On the other side of the garage, Heikki quickly adapted to the new machine.
"I could feel a really good level of potential in the chassis and engine," said the Finn. "The R26 is a an evolution of last year's car, which was already a good chassis.
"I would say that the R26 is probably more comfortable and more stable, as well as being just as nice to drive," he added. "From my point of view, every day I feel better integrated in the team, and I am ready to work hard on a busy testing programme between now and Bahrain."
"We had a good day today, in spite of the electrical problem this morning," said Alonso. "It was not really serious, and in one sense, it allowed us to wait for the track conditions to improve because the circuit was damp this morning. We spent the afternoon working on tyre development with Michelin, and we were pleased with how the car performed on the tyres."
"This is a demanding circuit for the drivers, and so it's good to see Heikki adapted quickly to the new package," added Christian Silk. "Fernando ran a thorough tyre test that allowed us to work on the chassis set-up, and we looked very competitive on the timesheets, which is always nice. The drivers feel good in the car, and tomorrow we hope to complete more miles, if track conditions allow. The aim will be to complete a race distance with the two cars."
Jenson Button joined the test taking over from Anthony Davidson. He completed an aero evaluation on intermediate tyres in the morning session whilst Rubens Barrichello ran through a series of set-up runs.
With the circuit having dried out by lunchtime, both Rubens and Jenson continued their testing programme with a tyre evaluation.
Button will continue his running tomorrow with Anthony taking over from Barrichello.
Third quickest was Michael Schumacher, at the wheel of the 248, though once again the centre of attention was the other driver in the Ferrari garage, Valentino Rossi.
The German's programme focussed mainly on the development of the 248 F1, completing a number of long runs on the way to posting a best time of, 1:11.831.
Following yesterday's one-lap outing, today Rossi managed 52, outpacing a number of established Formula One stars. There were a couple of spins, as he got used to the V10 powered F2004, but for the most part it was a good performance.
Kimi Raikkonen was a no-show today, the Finn suffering a "heavy cold", consequently, Juan Pablo Montoya was brought in a day earlier than planned.
In the morning, with the track still a little damp, the team only left the garage for a few installation laps prior to running in earnest shortly after 11am.
Juan Pablo, in the MP4-21, completed over 270km of the Spanish track on his third day of running in the team's 2006 car, since its shakedown on Monday, 23rd January. The Colombian set the third fastest time of the day.
Juan Pablo's work focused on achieving long runs with the MP4-21, because of the number of team's on track this was subject to two red flag interruptions caused by other drivers, however he was able to complete two stints of 17 laps. In addition he worked through some set-up programmes.
Gary Paffett continued in the interim MP4-20, fitted with a V10, working on Michelin tyre development. The Englishman covered 450km over 116 laps, ending the day eleventh on the timesheets.
Juan Pablo will be joined in tomorrow by Pedro de la Rosa who will take over testing the MP4-20 from Paffett.
Jacques Villeneuve was the quicker of the two BMW drivers on duty. The Canadian, at the wheel of the F1.06, worked on the set-up of the car and evaluated new aerodynamic parts. He also did some starts and tested intermediate tyres for Michelin.
Meanwhile, Robert Kubica, driving the Sauber C24B, worked with Michelin on a tyre test programme, in addition to carrying out a number of practice starts.
Ricardo Zonta and Jarno Trulli were on duty for Toyota, as they continued with work on tyres and set-ups, both particularly motivated to gain further results and insights into the development of the Bridgestone tyres. Jarno Trulli will keep testing at Valencia tomorrow alongside fellow race driver Ralf Schumacher.
"This has been an enjoyable day of running here at Valencia," said the Italian. "The conditions were very difficult in the morning because the track started out damp and it was also very cold. It's always difficult to drive in such conditions but we were still able to do some set-up work and to do a tyre comparison. We kept going with set-up and tyre work throughout the day, putting in a lot of useful mileage in preparation for the new season."
"We had a productive day today and we got through a lot of work," added Dieter Gass, the Japanese team's chief race and test engineer. "We carried out some tyre testing for Bridgestone and we found some interesting new tyres, so that was positive. Apart from that we didn't have too many issues during the day and both cars ran reliably. But the overnight rain meant that the track was very green today so it was hard work for the drivers. We will continue with our programme here for the next two days."
David Coulthard only really ran in the afternoon, the Red Bull team opting to change his V8 since it was nearing the end of its working life. Consequently, the Austrian team lost the last two hours of running.
Nonetheless, the Scot concentrated on general chassis work, in preparation for Christian Klien, who will take over driving duties tomorrow, the final day of the team's test.
WilliamsF1 had Mark Webber and Alexander Wurz on duty, the Australian in the 2006 car and the Austrian in the FW27C. Unfortunately, it was a difficult day for both drivers.
"This morning's running was wet," explained Sam Michael, "and although Mark managed to put more mileage on the FW28 we had to stop mid afternoon with a known gearbox problem.
"Alex was undertaking some tyre testing for Bridgestone in the FW27C and also stopped mid afternoon with a fuel pump failure. Tomorrow, Nico will drive the FW28 and Alex will continue his programme in the FW27C."
To check out our Valencia Test picture gallery, click here