07/12/2006
NEWS STORY
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Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets on the second day of testing at Jerez, the fastest of 17 drivers on duty at the Spanish track.
Along with teammate Pedro de la Rosa, Hamilton continued evaluating Bridgestone Potenza tyres and additional development programmes as the Woking team pushes forward with preparations for 2007.
Hamilton spent time working on mechanical set-ups and tyre/wheel combinations over both short and long runs. His day ended 90 minutes early following an off-track excursion, however the test team have repaired his car to enable him to continue running tomorrow. de la Rosa also completed some set-up work, in addition to focusing on aerodynamic development.
For Renault, Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen concentrated primarily on tyre testing and chassis set-up changes, in order to further advance their understanding of the Bridgestone tyres, and the impact of the set-ups that were tried on the car.
The Italian's second day of testing saw him working initially on brake development, before beginning the tyre work once conditions had improved. His objective was to do as many miles as possible, in order to collect the maximum amount of data. He finished the day second-fastest, having completed 63 laps.
Kovalainen worked through a set-up programme in order to continue his evaluation of the Japanese tyres. The Finn completed a total of 78 laps after a productive day's work, setting a best lap of 1:20.204 to finish the day tenth fastest.
"I had a better second day," said Fisichella, "and I am beginning to find my feet with these new tyres. I am feeling more confident with the car, and I made good progress with the car in spite of some delay this morning owing to poor track conditions. The tyres are harder than what we have been used to, which means the grip is not so good. But I was expecting that, so it is not a surprise, and things are going well during this first session back in the car."
"We had another very busy day," added Christian Silk, "and we tried to complete a large part of our programme today as we have seen some rain forecast for tomorrow."
Taking over from James Rossiter, Rubens Barrichello spent his early runs finding a good balance on the car before beginning the planned test items. He ran through a suspension evaluation, alongside general car set-up work as the evaluation of the Bridgestone Potenza tyres continues.
Christian Klien spent the day concentrating on an intensive aero programme. He then rounded off the day with some electronics set-up work, covering 99 laps in total. James Rossiter will be back in the car tomorrow taking over from the Austrian.
Fourth quickest was WilliamsF1's sole runner, Nico Rosberg, who completed over 100 laps.
"Nico continued with set-up changes and brake balance adjustments, making further improvements on what we discovered yesterday," said the Grove outfit's test tea manager, Mike Condliffe. "We then tested some aero parts before completing a race distance, complete with pit stops, in the afternoon."
Yesterday's pace-setter, Felipe Massa, could only manage fifth quickest today, finishing over 1.3s down on Hamilton. The Brazilian, along with Italian teammate, Luca Badoer, continued with the technical programme initiated yesterday, comprising engine endurance testing, experimentation with new components and working on finding the best set-up.
As previously reported, Kimi Raikkonen was a surprise visitor, The Finn watching progress from the pit wall before attending a team debrief. Under contract to McLaren Mercedes until December 31, Raikkonen is not allowed to discuss his new team, far less wear its colours or drive its cars, until the new year.
Toyota was represented by Ralf Schumacher and Kamui Kobayashi, a member of the Toyota Young Driver Programme. The German resumed where he left off in Barcelona last week, putting the 2007 Bridgestone tyres through their paces and helping the team find the optimum set-up.
Meanwhile, Kobayashi worked hard for the team too on just his second day of testing in a Formula 1 car, having made his debut last week. The 20-year-old continued to gain confidence in the car and improved his lap times as the day wore on, as well as gathering useful information for the team.
"Today we did a lot of set-up work with Ralf in order to continue to get a clear understanding of the 2007 tyre generation from Bridgestone," explained Dieter Gass. "We learnt quite a few things with the changes that we made so we are happy with that.
"Komui, like Kohei Hirate yesterday, did a day of solid running, without mistakes, on his second day in the car and had a run with quick and consistent lap times at the end of the day. Unfortunately both drivers' days were interrupted at times with some reliability issues which we will have to continue working on."
Nick Heidfeld was the quicker of the two BMW drivers on duty, out-pacing teammate Robert Kubica by 0.306. The German spent his first day of testing concentrating on set-up changes, including new dampers, and their interaction with the new Bridgestone Potenza tyres.
Kubica, who celebrated his 22nd birthday today, continued testing the new gearbox and completed a huge set-up programme whilst also carrying out mechanical system checks which were on today's to do list.
Tomorrow, while Heidfeld will continue to drive, Timo Glock takes over from Kubica. Both drivers will have the new gearbox fitted in their cars. For Glock it is the second test day with the team.
Anthony Davidson completed 112 laps, the highest number of the day, as he carried out team's planned testing programme, evaluating a number of suspension changes whilst continuing to gather valuable information on the 2007 Bridgestone Potenza tyres. The Englishman finished fourteenth quickest.
Red Bull had David Coulthard and Mark Webber on duty, whilst Scott Speed was in action for Toro Rosso.
In addition to Hamilton's off, Scott Speed had a big spin, while Heidfeld, Kubica, Klien and Kobayashi each brought out the red flags when they suffered on track failures.
To check out our Jerez picture gallery, click here