15/11/2007
NEWS STORY
Renault's Heikki Kovalainen set the fastest time of the day at Barcelona today, as the penultimate test of the year came to a close.
Once again, the day was mainly devoted to testing the reliability of the new standard ECU (the MES TAG31OB), which all the teams will have to use from 2008 onwards.
Kovalainen, who has done all the driving for Renault this week, continued to fine-tune his R27, testing various set-ups and getting to grips with a car that has neither traction control nor EBS. The Finn was able to complete a full programme this week without any major problems, though today, he was slightly delayed by a mechanical incident.
The French outfit will next be testing in Jerez at the start of December with Nelson Piquet Jr at the wheel.
“Today, we finished off our 3-day test session, which has been very positive in my opinion," said the Finn. "The car handled well right from the start. We’ve worked on the new ECU and we’ve kept progressing over the three days. We’ve been competitive whatever the track conditions, and we’ve shown how determined Renault is to fight its way back to the front in 2008. I think it’s a very important first step in our development programme for next season. Even if we know there are a number of areas where we can still progress, we’ve already done a great job this week.”
“We’ve ending this test with very positive results," added Christian Silk. "The mechanics did a great job today to enable us to get back out as quickly as possible, and achieve our objective concerning the number of kilometres covered. We did a lot of work on the brakes, and recorded a load of interesting data that we’ll have to interpret on our return to Enstone. We revised the car’s set-up last night, and Heikki seemed very satisfied today with its overall balance, which is very encouraging. The track changed throughout the day and the car coped with these changes very well. I think it’s fair to say that these three days have been very conclusive. Now, we’ll try to take advantage of our next test on the Jerez circuit to prepare for the arrival of the R28 in the best possible conditions.”
Second quickest was Ferrari's Felipe Massa Luca as the Italian team completed its planned programme, which centred on development of new components and electronics. Also in action for the Maranello outfit was Luca Badoer, who took over from Michael Schumacher.
Franck Montagny, making his final appearance for Toyota, signed off in style, posting the third fastest time of the day. The Frenchman was joined, as on the two previous days, by Jarno Trulli.
Montagny continued evaluating the 2008 standard ECU and enjoyed a productive morning, clocking almost 40 laps and setting encouraging lap times.
With the 30,000km annual testing limit in mind and also to allow his crew to make adjustments, Trulli only completed installation laps in the morning. In the afternoon he enjoyed a solid stint behind the wheel, evaluating set-ups using 2007 electronics but without traction control.
Montagny continued his work on the electronics system and other development parts and completed a suitably positive end to his final day behind the wheel for the team.
“I think today went well," said Trulli. "We did everything we had planned in our programme. Everybody can see we have not done a lot of laps each day this week because we are a bit limited on the mileage. But we managed to do a lot of good work and we got a lot of interesting information from our set-up work so we have a better understanding of several areas which will be very helpful for the 2008 car. It has been a good test and I am pleased with the work we have done.”
“It was my last day driving for the team and it has been a good day, which I am happy about," added Montagny. "Yesterday was not so great, we made a mistake on tyre pressures and we had a few problems, but today everything went pretty well - we set decent lap times and everything was very consistent. We worked hard and I think we have made a good step forwards. Even though this car is not the 2008 version, it still has quite a few new items on it and we have made good progress with them. I hope for the team that we have moved in the right direction.”
“We had a successful end to the test and both drivers completed all the work we planned for them," said Pascal Vasselon, the Japanese outfit's Senior General Manager Chassis. "It has been a useful three days in general because we have tested several items looking ahead to next season, including the standard ECU. Overall we have made good progress with the system, even though we had some minor issues during the course of the test. We also looked at set-up with the 2008 control system and made some interesting comparisons which should help us for next season. I think we can be pleased with what we have achieved and we will continue to work hard in preparation for 2008, both at the factory and at the next test.”
There was a significant improvement from Toro Rosso, with both cars making it into the top ten. Unlike yesterday, there was no swapping of chassis for the two drivers, with Sebastian Vettel sticking to the car running the 2008 Common ECU, while Sebastien Bourdais ran a 2007 spec car, with traction control and engine braking turned off.
Vettel also worked on the new suspension, trying various different settings. For Bourdais, the past three days have been something of a learning process as the team adapted to providing him with a car that suits his driving style.
According to the Italian outfit, the past three days have been productive, generating enough data to give a solid base to work on the 2008 systems.
Sister team, Red Bull, had David Coulthard and Robert Doornbos on duty. The Scot has driven on all three days and this last one saw him continue to work on aero and mechanical set-up, based on developments aimed at the 2008 regulations. A trouble free final day saw him get through everything on his programme.
With around two hours being lost to red flags caused by various teams and drivers, it was difficult to squeeze in a full workload. Nevertheless, Robert Doornbos, who took over from Karun Chandhok, got through the majority of his programme which focussed on the 2008 common ECU and getting the Renault engine and Red Bull Racing chassis systems working in harmony with it.
Pedro de la Rosa was the quicker of the two McLaren drivers on duty - the other, once again, being Gary Paffett - as the Woking outfit's attention - much like Ferrari's - wavered between events on track in Spain, and also in the offices of Sidley Austin in the City of London, several hundred miles away.
The duo completed the planned programme for the week without any problems. Both drivers only did limited mileage today to ensure plenty of running time is still available for the final test of 2007 in Jerez next month. As is the case for almost all the other teams, McLaren's main focus for the week has been preparations for the 2008 season and in particular work started in earnest on adapting to running without driver aids.
Williams continued with Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima, its 2008 partnership. "Our last day in Barcelona delivered another productive session for Nico and Kazuki, with Kazuki covering considerable mileage despite numerous red flags," said test team manager, Dickie Stanford. "The pair finalised systems checks to complete our scheduled development work for this week."
Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica wrapped up BMW's programme as the German outfit continued its development work with the 2008 standard ECU, as well as the testing of new mechanical parts in preparation for the 2008 season. While the team lost some track time due to teething problems with new components, the overall conclusion is positive.
Force India concluded its first test with Vitantonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien continuing for a further day each, as the team pushed on with its programme of gathering data on the car's behaviour with the new ECU.
With no major mechanical issues occurring over the course of the three days, the team was able to complete its programme. The drivers are reported to have given "strong feedback" throughout their day-and-a half with the team and thereby provided a strong baseline for the next test.
"Once again a productive day to conclude a positive week," said Mike Gascoyne. "Both Christian and Tonio did a very good job for us, with interesting and informative feedback on the electronics and general set-up of the car. We had no real mechanical problems throughout the day and in general this week, with testing new items and drivers, has had a very positive effect on the team. Overall very good and we look forward to continuing our work in Jerez."
"I think the second day went even better than the first," said Klien. "We kept working on the car, there is still a lot to find obviously and it was interesting to work with the engineers. We kept improving over the day and I think there is still some more lap time to find. The car felt good in the long runs, the rear tyres were consistent and also the braking stability on the new electronics was quite good. There is still quite a lot to improve on this car and I am very optimistic. The team worked hard and I think, all in all, it was a good two days for me here."
"I am pretty happy with the whole day," added Liuzzi. "In the morning we had a very good session and set some quick times but in the afternoon we had a small problem that affected the driveability of car. It was a shame the lap time was not better, but we gave a lot of information to the team and there is more to come as for sure it was just one test. With some more experience the team is ready to grow - there is a good group with some good support from the new owners. There is obviously work to do, but I am sure after some small changes the car can be way quicker and you can make a huge difference over the lap."
Honda had Jenson Button and Mike Conway on duty. Conway, was one of several drivers to bring out the red flags twice - the others being Badoer and Kubica.
"The 2008 electronics are a completely new system for the team, as they are for all of the teams," said Steve Clark, Head of Race & Test Engineering. "The engine, gearbox and chassis have performed reliably from the very first run of the week and this smooth transition is a reflection of the excellent preparation made by the team in advance of the test. We were quickly able to start tuning the new system to improve driveability for the 2008 regulations. This work will continue at the next test in Jerez and will give us a solid start to preparations for the new season when the RA108 takes to the track in January."
"After a couple of hard weeks of physical training, it was a pleasure to be back driving again this week and starting our on-track preparations for the new season," said Button. "This was the first time that I've driven the car with the new electronics system and it is a great feeling that you are properly in control of the car without having driver aids such as traction control. This suits my driving style so I am pretty happy with the changes to the regulations. Our focus this week was on putting mileage on the new electronics system, addressing any issues caused by its introduction and working out the optimum set-up on the car. It was a good two days and we were able to run reliably which is pleasing."
"I had a really good day today," added Conway. "I settled into the car quickly and felt comfortable with the seat and the positioning which was good as it enabled us to concentrate on finding time right from the start. I felt that we were able to make progress throughout the day and found some good time when we ran with new tyres. I hope there is more to come in the future."
Having been on duty for Honda on Tuesday, today, James Rossiter took over the driving duties for Super Aguri. The Englishman picked up from where Anthony Davidson finished yesterday with continued work being carried out on the MES 2008 controls system, accumulating data for engineering analysis. In conjunction with the controls development, Rossiter carried out brake and aero evaluations working towards the SA08 and completed a total of 60 laps.