14/11/2007
NEWS STORY
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Michael Schumacher continued to set the pace at Barcelona today, as initial preparations for the 2008 season continued.
On his second, and final, day of testing, Schumacher was joined by 2006 teammate Felipe Massa, who posted the fourth best time of the day, albeit 0.555s off the seven-time champion's pace. As on Tuesday, both drivers worked on the development of new components and electronics.
Pedro de la Rosa was second quickest as McLaren continued its programme. The Woking team, which also had Gary Paffett on duty, specifically focussed on running its cars without driver aids.
Heikki Kovalainen continued for Renault, the Finn spending most of the morning doing set-up work in order to evaluate his car's reactions to the various solutions tested. He subsequently worked on brake testing and the new procedures that the team has had to put in place when using the new ECU.
According to the French outfit, it made a lot of headway with its programme despite a minor electrical glitch in the afternoon.
"The day went pretty well," said Kovalainen. "We lost a little bit of track time early afternoon, but it was nothing serious and I reckon we've made good progress. The car ran well and we're going in the right direction. That's what really counts."
"We've made a good step forward today," added Christian Silk. "The mechanics did a really good job to allow us to cover the maximum number of laps. Heikki made good progress. He's found his marks and he feels comfortable in the car, which has proved reliable over the last two days. Tomorrow, we're hoping to take full advantage of our last day here to complete our programme."
Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima continued to make good progress for Williams. Today, the German out-pacing his Japanese teammate as the duo worked through systems checks and evaluations of the new electronic control units.
David Coulthard and Karun Chandhok worked on similar programmes to yesterday, the main difference being that both men managed to complete significantly more laps, on a track where conditions were not ideal at the start and end of the day, when temperatures were very low.
The Indian driver continued to work on the 2008 electrical systems, while the Scot evaluated various mechanical and aero components aimed at next season. Tomorrow, Coulthard continues testing while Chandhok's cockpit will be taken over by Robert Doornbos, fresh from his Champ Car finale at Mexico City.
Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica continued for BMW as the German team once again focused on testing the new standard ECU for 2008. Furthermore, several mechanical parts and other components for 2008 were tested, while the team also evaluated some aero parts. Due to technical problems with some of the new parts the Pole was unable to do as many laps as he wished, however, the team is working hard to rectify the situation for tomorrow.
Sebastian Vettel out-paced Sebastian Bourdais with "German Seb" at the wheel of a car with the 2008 common ECU and "French Seb" driving a car with 2007 electronics, but with traction control and engine braking switched off. However, in the middle of the morning the two men swapped cockpits, primarily so that Bourdais could try the new suspension fitted to Vettel's car.
In the afternoon, they reverted to their original chassis and Bourdais' afternoon programme also included some aero testing while both men continued to evaluate new brake materials.
Jenson Button joined Honda, taking over the testing programme in the RA107 for his first experience of the car with the 2008 electronics. He spent the early laps finding a good balance before continuing the team's evaluation of the new system. The Englishman also completed a number of race starts and ended the day with a final lap tally of 79 laps.
Italian GP2 driver Luca Filippi had his first full test in a Formula One car today with the Honda Young Driver Programme. He spent the morning acclimatising to the car and the control systems, followed by a number of longer runs early in the afternoon and finishing the day with low fuel qualifying evaluations.
Button will continue the test tomorrow for the final day with Mike Conway taking over from Luca Filippi.
Once again, Jarno Trulli and Franck Montagny were in action for Toyota. With the same drivers continuing in the cockpit, the programme was for Trulli again to evaluate some 2008 parts while running without traction control, with Montagny continuing work on the standard ECU for 2008, as well as other development items.
The Italian made good progress evaluating set-ups and reported an improvement in performance, despite a morning spin which saw his car end up in the gravel. The Frenchman also brought out the red flags when he caught the kerbs at turn 13 and spun backwards into the wall, badly damaging the rear of his car. However, his crew worked hard to get the car ready for the afternoon session and, in spite of issues with the standard ECU, he was able to resume and gather important data for the team.
"Today was a smooth day for me," said Trulli. "Again I enjoyed myself driving without traction control. I must say we had a very positive and productive day. We were testing several things which made our car quicker. I lost part of the morning because I went off into the gravel but apart from that we got the best out of our day. We have had some good and clear indications for next year regarding car development so I am very happy."
"I've had quite a bad day really today," admitted Montagny. "The car looked quite good yesterday, even if it was not perfect, but today with more grip from the track surface we were struggling to find the right set-up. I had a problem getting the tyres up to temperature and spun in the morning, which took a couple of hours to repair. Then we had a software problem which cost us more time. Even though I am driving a modified car with some 2008 elements, we were expecting better. It was disappointing but I hope we can improve tomorrow.
"Today was quite a productive day," insisted Senior General Manager Chassis, Pascal Vasselon. "We made good progress on Jarno's car, working on set-up comparisons and we are pleased with the results, which are very encouraging. Franck again worked with 2008 development parts and the new standard ECU and, even though he suffered some delays and was not entirely happy, he was able to bring back some information which will help our understanding. We will continue with that programme tomorrow when we hope to make more progress."
Anthony Davidson continued as sole representative for Super Aguri, as the Leafield outfit continued its on-going development of the MES controls system in the morning whilst completing a programme of engine and gearbox settings. In the afternoon the team focused on 2008 suspension settings and aero work.
Force India completed its second day of testing, with three drivers sharing two cars as Adrian Sutil, Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi, continued the team's programme of accumulating data on the new electronic control units, putting in more than 1,000km.
The trio were incredibly closely matched over the day, finishing within two tenths of each other, however it was Klien who posted the team's fastest time (1:24.446).
The Austrian, who last tested for the team at Spa back in August, piloted one car throughout the morning, before handing it to Liuzzi just after 13:00. The Italian put in 56 laps, just a tenth from the Klien's fastest time. Sutil meanwhile completed a comprehensive programme throughout the day to gather plenty of information on the new-for-2008 electronics. A huge 105 laps later, both he and the team were pleased with the progress shown today.
Klien and Liuzzi will take one car each to continue their respective programmes tomorrow, the third and final day of the test.
"Generally a very productive day of testing," said Mike Gascoyne. "Our major test item on both cars was the standard ECU configuration. We had no major problems and were work through to get through the unsolved issues, with both cars completing over 100 laps each. It was also a chance to test Christian and Tonio, who had their first runs in the car to make themselves comfortable. We will continue our programme tomorrow with them driving a car each for the whole day."
'We put in some long runs today," said Sutil, "which were very consistent and let us see really where the balance of the car was. At the end of the day it did not feel too different to the last races, as the car is the same just with the new electronics, but without the traction control. It takes time for everyone to get used to it as it is very sensitive now and difficult to get the maximum acceleration. This was the main point today; to concentrate on braking and acceleration, but it was also a day for me to drive and get used to the new package."
"I was pretty pleased with the testing today," added Klien, "especially considering I had not tested a car since August. It took some time to get used to it again, particularly without any of the driver aids, but once I had settled in I could put in some good times and help the team with its programme. Doing 56 laps in just over a morning was pretty good and I'm looking forward to getting back in the car for some more tomorrow."
"I think today went well," said Liuzzi. "For sure I enjoyed it. With traction control there is a bit more action, and you need some more concentration and have to work harder, especially over longer runs. I had some problems getting comfortable in the cockpit, which is normal after years at another team and lost maybe a couple of tenths, but I think we did some good work today. The car has some small issues, but we can always overcome it - the team is very professional. I am just doing my best and seeing if we can work well together."