09/02/2006
NEWS STORY
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McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa topped the timesheets at Jerez today, as the Woking team experienced a day of mixed fortunes.
The Spaniard, who continued to focus on Michelin tyre testing, was driving a V10 powered MP4-20 as he completed 123 laps, posting a best time of 1:17.451. However, it was a difficult return to work for teammate Kimi Raikkonen who was sidelined for much of the day with a gearbox problem.
The Finn did not leave the garage during the afternoon session as his MP4-21 had a minor problem with the gearbox and an engine oil leak, which necessitated both components to be removed in order to complete repairs. This work took the majority of the afternoon and Raikkonen will return to the track tomorrow morning to continue his programme.
Kimi will be at the wheel of the MP4-21 for the morning of tomorrow's session, with Pedro taking over driving duties of the new car in the afternoon. Gary Paffett will join the test to drive in the MP4-20.
Renault drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen, alternated on track owing to the unavailability of rear wings, but nevertheless completed their planned work for the day.
Giancarlo took to the track in the morning in very cold conditions, completing two short runs followed by three medium-distance runs before lunch. He also completed the day's running at the end of the afternoon, working on tyre testing and chassis set-up, completing a total of 76 laps.
Heikki took to the track in the second R26 in early afternoon, and also completed tyre development work with Michelin. The Finn completed 45 laps without incident.
WilliamsF1's Mark Webber was third quickest, out-pacing teammate Nico Rosberg by over a second, as the FW28, and indeed the Cosworth, continues to show good pace and reliability.
"Today Mark and Nico continued tyre testing and set-up work on the FW28s," said Sam Michael. "We had a problem with the steering rack hydraulics on Nico's car in the morning, which, unfortunately, delayed the programme while we changed it. Otherwise, we are making steady progress on reliability and set-up items. Tomorrow, Mark and Alex will be driving and will conclude the Jerez test."
Jenson Button was Honda's sole representative, beginning the day some early set-up runs before completing a tyre evaluation over long runs in the afternoon. He completed a total of 118 laps, running the V8 engine in chassis RA106-02 to its target mileage.
The team will now move to Bahrain where it intends taking advantage of the warmer climate to complete a valuable four-day test at the Bahrain International Circuit.
"We have had some issues with the engine this week," admitted Shuhei Nakamoto, Honda Racing's Engineering Director, "so we need to keep focusing on the reliability. We will have some new improvements next week on the engine that we will be running in Bahrain. Overall we are in good shape."
"Despite a difficult day on Wednesday, this has been another positive test for us," added Mark Ellis. "The pace of the RA106 has again been very encouraging and the car has been extremely reliable despite a couple of small issues. We are looking forward to next week's four-day test in Bahrain where we can fully evaluate the latest tyre developments from Michelin in realistic conditions and start our real preparations for the opening races."
Jacque Villeneuve was the quicker of the two BMW drivers, the Canadian out-pacing his German teammate by just 0.099s.
With both drivers running F1.06s, Villeneuve worked on a programme evaluating tyres for Bahrain. Unfortunately his day was cut short when a 'foreign object' caused damage to his car's cooling system.
Heidfeld worked on the set-up of the car and also tested Michelin tyres for the Bahrain Grand Prix, unfortunately he too had to stop early, his problem being a fuel pump failure.
Although for much of the day it looked as though the heavens would open up, the rain held off, allowing Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli to complete the tyre testing programme that was the main focus for Toyota this week.
For the second successive day Jarno Trulli completed more than 100 laps of the Spanish track.
"We completed more than 100 laps with both cars today," said test team manager, Gerd Pfeiffer, "and at this stage of proceedings, with the new season ever closer we have to be very pleased with the level of reliability that we are seeing.
"In the morning we experimented with the weight distribution and suspension and then we made some good progress with the tyres in the afternoon, when temperatures were more suitable. Next week we will have more performance parts for the car in Italy."
"At the moment we are pretty happy about the behaviour of the car," said Trulli. "Compared to the others we are not that quick but we know very well that we are going to get a major aerodynamic step next week. We have done good, solid winter testing, especially on the development of the tyres because the switch from one tyre manufacturer to another was our biggest technical challenge.
"Understanding the best way to run the Bridgestones and which compounds and constructions best suit our car has been quite a complicated process and there is still work to be done, although we have done the major part of the job."
"We got through a lot again today," added Ralf Schumacher, "because an integral part of tyre testing is experimenting with the car set-up, which includes such things as suspension settings and weight distribution. Quick lap times were never part of the agenda and we were again satisfied with what we learned. Next week we will have the new aero package, which will be interesting."
Next week the team will head to Vallelunga, where the TF106's new aerodynamic package will be introduced.
The main focus of attention today was the track debut of the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR01, in the hands of Valentino Liuzzi.
"Finally, the new baby is out," said the Italian. "Now I feel that we are really on course for the 2006 season. Everything went well and the car ran pretty reliably. Of course, with a new car there is still quite a lot to do with setup and the engine definitely felt different. It makes a strange noise, has less power and the power band is in a different place to what I had been used to."
Unfortunately, the car broke down on the circuit, however, the fault was traced to an electrical problem, which was soon fixed. Scott Speed takes over tomorrow (Friday), the final day of testing for the Italian team.
Tiago Monteiro carried out tyre testing in the (Jordan) EJ15 in the morning before switching to the M16 for some familiarisation and set-up work in the afternoon. Unfortunately he lost track time in the afternoon with a couple of problems that the team was able to correct during the session.
Christijan Albers spent the morning in the M16 working on set-up and further systems testing and comparison work. In the afternoon In the afternoon, the Dutch driver, having swapped with his Portuguese teammate, drove the EJ15, concentrating on aerodynamic testing and some engine work for Toyota.
"I went out in the new car this afternoon and although we didn't do many laps it was good to get a feel for what it is like," said Monteiro. "I am happy with what we achieved and look forward to getting more laps completed tomorrow."
"I spent the first half of today in the new car and I am pleased that we are making good progress," added Albers. "I have now driven both cars and I am still positive about the changes that have been made over the winter. I am still looking forward to the start of the season and getting as much as possible out of the new car before then."
Weather
Air temperature: 9-21 C
Track temperature: 9-24 C.
Overcast with sunny periods
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