13/06/2008
NEWS STORY
Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer continues to set the pace at Barcelona today, the second day of testing at the Spanish track.
Other than a minor shower at the start of the session, conditions were fine for much of the day, allowing the nine drivers on duty to complete a total of 931 laps
The Italian continued with an intensive testing programme, centred on experimenting with various new aerodynamic solutions in preparation for the next few races of the season, as well as trying different set-ups on the F2008.
On the way to posting the third fastest time of the year at the Spanish track, Badoer, who will continue testing here tomorrow, completed 95 laps.
Second quickest, 0.361s off Badoer's pace, was McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa, as the Woking team moved closer to signing off new aerodynamic components for the French and British Grands Prix, which will be completed tomorrow due to windy conditions affecting the session in the afternoon. Set-ups for new mechanical components were also evaluated.
Third quickest, clearly still on a roll following his strong result in Canada, was Timo Glock, who took over from Kamui Kobayashi. Glock's programme centred around aerodynamic testing in preparation for the French Grand Prix but the schedule was compressed by an interruption due to a mechanical problem shortly after lunch. Nevertheless, he was still able to complete 87 laps and gather information for the team to use in planning for the next race. The German will continue in the cockpit for the third and final day of the test, tomorrow.
"I think we accomplished good work and had a productive day," said Glock. "We collected a lot of aerodynamic data, which is good for the guys back in Cologne. For me it was good to be back in the car after the success in Canada and the TF108 feels better and better from lap to lap the more time I spend in the cockpit. I am more comfortable with it now and the team did a good job. We had a small break after lunch with a hydraulic problem but the mechanics repaired it quickly and we were able to continue the programme, which was important."
"We had a full test schedule," added Test Team Manager, Gerd Pfeiffer. "The delay that we experienced just after lunch was caused by the breakage of a test item that we wouldn't normally use, so nothing serious - that's one of the reasons we test. Other than that, we got through a lot of work and generally had a strong day."
Nico Rosberg took over from Nico Hulkenberg for Williams. In readiness for the forthcoming races, we concentrated on set-up work of the FW30 throughout today's session and completed the scheduled programme with no problems," said Dickie Stanford. "We'll now convert the car overnight for Nico Hulkenberg's return tomorrow for our last day of running."
Having taken over from Sebastien Buemi towards the end of yesterday's session, David Coulthard was Red Bull's only driver today. He continued with work on evaluating some new aero and mechanical components.
"The day went well, providing some positive and interesting results," said Chief Test Engineer, Ian Morgan. "However, a minor technical problem sidelined the car around an hour before the end of the session. Apart from that, we worked through our programme and Mark Webber takes over from David for the final day tomorrow."
For BMW, Robert Kubica continued to work on the aerodynamical and mechanical setup of the F1.08 with regards to the upcoming French Grand Prix. After finishing this short term test programme he also did some development work for the intermediate future. The Pole concluded two days of successful testing by covering a total of 852 km (183 laps) of the Circuit de Catalunya.
Tomorrow Nick Heidfeld will be at wheel for one more day of testing, while Kubica is heading for Warsaw, the capital of his native Poland. On Saturday he will attend BMW Sauber F1 Team's Pit Lane Park exhibition, which is sure to be a highly popular attraction following the youngster's maiden GP win last weekend.
Rubens Barrichello took over the wheel of the Honda RA108 from Anthony Davidson. Today's programme saw a continuation of the set-up work begun by Davidson yesterday in preparation for the forthcoming French Grand Prix. The Brazilian spent the morning focusing on an aero evaluation before completing a comprehensive chassis set-up programme during the afternoon session, completing a total of 122 laps over the course of the day.
For Renault, Nelson Piquet was back behind the wheel of the R28 and spent the day completing aero and chassis development work in preparation for next week's Grand Prix. The Brazilian completed 129 laps, and was glad to have a relatively trouble-free day. He remains in the car for his final day of work tomorrow when the team will complete its final objectives for the test.
"It was a good day's work," said the Brazilian, "and, despite losing some time before lunch, I was able to do most of what we had planned. We spent the day evaluating some new things that the team will use in France next week and that all went well. Another full day of running tomorrow should put us in good shape for next week."
"We had a busy programme today with a lot to get through," added Christian Silk, "but the whole team worked hard and we were able to complete what we needed to. We now have lots of valuable information, which we will analyse this evening so that we can make the most of the final day tomorrow."
Starting one day later than the other teams, Scuderia Toro Rosso is nevertheless attempting to squeeze three days work into two. Sebastien Bourdais was the first man to get his hands on the team's latest chassis, STR3-04, which was duly given its shakedown. The car is also fitted with a new aerodynamic package, being evaluated prior to planned use in the French Grand Prix. Apart from this, Bourdais also tried some new front suspension options. The entire test was carried out on Bridgestone's "hard" Barcelona tyre.
"We found the new package has a significant effect on the handling of the car," said Chief Engineer, Laurent Mekies. "We are still working to understand and improve it and this work will continue when Vettel takes over tomorrow." Bourdais also put in some long runs with reliability in mind and the day was trouble-free.
There were three red flags during the course of the day, all caused by technical problems.