30/01/2007
NEWS STORY
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Having packed up early on Friday when rain compromised its programme, McLaren, along with eight other teams was disappointed to see that the unseasonable weather was continuing to cause problems four days later.
Thankfully however, the rain that greeted the teams this morning eventually eased off, allowing the teams to get to work with their planned programmes.
Although the Woking team only had one driver on duty (Alonso), it will be delighted to see that at the end of the first day of a three day test the Spaniard enjoys almost a second over his nearest rival, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
The conditions this morning allowed Alonso, running the MP5-22, to evaluate Bridgestone's extreme wet weather tyres, including some transition work to the wet weather options. Alongside the tyre work, Fernando and the team also focused on "continued systems sign-off" with the MP4-22.
For the final couple of hours, the team ran with dry weather tyres, enabling it to cover the full Bridgestone range during the course of the day.
Unfortunately, the Spaniard stopped on track with only five minutes of the session remaining with a minor oil leak.
Raikkonen, having his first run in the F2007 (above), was partnered by Luca Badoer, in the 248 F1,as the team focussed on development of the new car and testing new components, in addition to set-up work.
While the Finn had a trouble free day, the Italian's programme came to an early end as a result of a "technical problem". Earlier in the session Badoer was involved in an incident with Alonso which saw the Ferrari having to take avoiding action and spin off onto the grass.
Tomorrow, Raikkonen is joined by Felipe Massa.
Giancarlo Fisichella and Nelson Piquet were in action for Renault, both at the wheel of 2007 cars, though they completed very few laps as they waited for the slippery track conditions to improve. Following an installation lap first thing in the morning, the due waited until late in the afternoon before beginning proper running. The French team's objective for the test remain the same as in previous weeks: gaining maximum mileage with the new package, and continuing to explore set-up options with the new car.
Although the day was not as productive as the team had hoped, they are confident of making good progress with the technical programme during the rest of the week. Due to the poor weather conditions the team has decided to extend its test, initially planned for three days, to include Friday as well.
"It was pretty frustrating today," admitted Fisichella, "waiting for the track conditions to improve. We basically lost a day's work but that can happen at this time of year. We still have three days left though, and I am sure we can make some good progress during the rest of the week."
"In the end, it wasn't such a busy day for us," added Piquet. "We only began the programme towards the end of the day when the weather improved. Everything went OK from my point of view, and it feels like the real work has begun now: these are important tests for the team, and there is still a lot to do before the opening races."
After Ralf Schumacher's shakedown of the TF107 earlier this month, today was the turn of Jarno Trulli and third driver Franck Montagny to get their first taste of the car which Toyota expects to bring success this season.
Both drivers had to wait to sample the car's potential as light rain and cold morning temperatures restricted them to just one installation lap at the start of the session. An hour later, with track temperatures increasing slightly, Montagny left the pits for his first serious run in the new car, although he returned to the garage soon after as a result of a minor mechanical issue.
Trulli was able to run without trouble all morning and as the track dried out he switched from extreme wets to wet tyres before lunchtime, improving his lap times in the process. He upped the pace in the afternoon and consistently improved his lap times as the track dried out, although Montagny spun into the gravel midway through the afternoon. The car was not damaged but mechanics needed time to clean it in preparation for the Frenchman's last stint of the afternoon, which saw him take fourth fastest with Trulli sixth.
"Every year it is the same with a new car test," said test team manager, Gerd Pfeiffer, "we want to make sure all the systems are working as they should before we can push for performance. With rain and low temperatures early this morning we decided not to do many laps until the track temperature increased as we did not want to waste our tyres. The weather improved but on a drying track it is difficult to make comparisons during the day. However, we are pleased with Jarno's day as he was able to do quite a few laps with no trouble which allowed the team to begin work on understanding the best set-up of the car. Franck had a more difficult day as he had a long stop due to the changing of one of the test items. Both drivers were able to set competitive times and their first impressions of the new car were very positive. Now we will continue this work tomorrow."
Nick Heidfeld and Sebastian Vettel had a pair of F1.07s at their disposal, the test driver getting his first run in the new car. Due to the wet conditions and his unfamiliarity with the car, Vettel made several practice starts in the morning, before concentrating on systems work. When the track began to dry out in the afternoon, he worked on the set-up of the car.
Heidfeld started the day doing functions checks. Later in the day, when he had just begun working on set-ups, he was hampered by a mechanical problem that lost him track time.
Tomorrow Robert Kubica will take over from Vettel, while Nick will continue in the other car.
Barrichello and Rossiter completed a few short runs in the morning, tryin out the Bridgestone wets. With the circuit drying by late afternoon, the Honda duo was able to go out on dry tyres and work on the balance of their cars. The Brazilian was at the wheel of the new RA107 whilst his English teammate had an RA106.
There were plenty of red flags during the course of the session and Kazuki Nakajima caused three of them, though only one of these was due to an off. The Japanese driver suffered two mechanical failures both causing him to stop out on track. "We were mainly testing the gearbox and various software throughout the day," said Mike Condliffe.
Super Aguri, which earlier today announced that it will launch its new car just days ahead of the season opener, had Takuma Sato on duty. The Japanese driver worked on tyre evaluations and control system analysis.
The only other team on duty here today was Red Bull, which was represented by Mark Webber. The Australian, at the wheel of the new RB3, didn't have the best of days, finishing thirteenth (of fourteen), 3.1s down on the pace-setter.