01/06/2006
NEWS STORY
It was a day of mixed fortunes for Ferrari at Barcelona today, as Michael Schumacher posted a new unofficial lap record, and teammate Luca Badoer crashed out, leaving the team with one car for the remainder of the Spanish test.
After yesterday morning's rain, conditions were ideal today, with blue skies and temperatures reaching 26 degrees C.
The eight teams that took part in yesterday's programme were joined by WilliamsF1, which meant that there were 17 drivers on duty during the course of the day.
Schumacher worked on tyre development in addition to testing new components, while Badoer continued with the programme he had begun on Monday. After just 27 laps the Italian went off at the third turn, crashing into the barriers and badly damaging the right-hand side of his 248 F1.
Uninjured in the accident, the Italian later admitted that he had made a mistake. Originally it was thought that the car could be rebuilt in time for tomorrow, the final day of testing, but this will not now be possible and Schumacher will be the Maranello outfit's sole representative on Friday.
Heikki Kovalainen was second quickest, albeit 0.703s down on Schumacher, as he continued Renault's Silverstone preparations alongside Giancarlo Fisichella.
The Finn continued to work hard on a tyre programme for Silverstone, he will fine-tune the final tyre selection tomorrow. Meanwhile Fisichella concentrated on preparations for forthcoming races, working on brake testing, in addition to signing off a number of components for the Canadian Grand Prix.
"We had a solid day of testing today," said Christian Silk. "The cars ran reliably, and we collected plenty of useful data for the next races.
"Tomorrow, we will be putting finishing touches to our preparations for the forthcoming race at Silverstone, where we expect the R26 to maintain its recent competitive form."
Jarno Trulli took over test duties in the Toyota TF106B, while Ricardo Zonta switched to the TF106 to perform some preparatory test items for Silverstone.
"Today's agenda was to work on the B-car's set-up," said the Italian, "yet we had a lot of delays for red lights and adjustments on the car. Nevertheless, I drove quite a few laps until we were forced to finish a little early at the end of the test session because the gearbox on my car needed to be worked on. Tomorrow I will drive the B-car again and we will continue to focus on set-up variations for Silverstone."
"I think today's testing shows positive results," added Zonta. "Being the third fastest in the times shows that the car can be competitive. Everything on the car was feeling good and we collected quite a bit of information, like temperature measurements and brake comparison data. Building on this week's experience, Silverstone should see better results for the team."
"Just like yesterday, the drivers did very well today," said Test Team Manager, Gerd Pfeiffer. "The major test item for both cars was the tyre compound testing in preparation for the next race. With Jarno's car we tried various steering parts and set-ups to give him a better steering support. Ricardo also worked on such items as brake material comparisons and launches.
"Tomorrow we have long runs planned to be able to make the final tyre choice for Silverstone."
Nico Rosberg and Alexander Wurz were on duty for WilliamsF1, the Austrian's programme coming to an early end following an accident.
"Nico had a mixed test programme," revealed Mike Condliffe, the Grove outfit's test team manager, "including some engine control software, underbody temperature mappings, some set-up work and a short tyre test in the afternoon.
"Meanwhile, Alex was testing a family of aerodynamic parts for direct comparison all day, providing useful data for correlation with the wind tunnel.
"Unfortunately, just before the end of session, Alex suffered an impact. I am pleased to say that he is fine, but the car sustained some damage. Both drivers will be on duty again tomorrow for our last day."
Juan Pablo Montoya joined Pedro de la Rosa for McLaren, which focussed on suspension and aerodynamic work, with both drivers also running the Michelin selection process for the British Grand Prix.
Juan Pablo spent some time in the garage during the morning resolving a clutch problem that required a transmission change, before he continued uninterrupted for the afternoon.
The Woking team's three-day test will conclude tomorrow at the Barcelona track. Juan Pablo and Pedro will continue suspension and aerodynamic work as well as the Michelin tyre evaluation programme.
Jacques Villeneuve was joined by Nick Heidfeld as BMW looks ahead to Silverstone with the aim of scoring points for the fourth successive race.
In the morning the Canadian finished off some worked started on Wednesday, concentrating on aero and set up work. In the afternoon he did a tyre casing programme for Michelin. Nick, on his first day of testing this week, did some practice starts and minimal aero and set-up work in the morning. He then spent the entire afternoon on a tyre programme for Michelin.
For the final day, Jacques will be replaced by Robert Kubica.
Jenson Button spent the morning session running through a comprehensive tyre evaluation looking at various options for Silverstone. He then worked through an aero programme in the afternoon session, completing a total of 109 laps.
Rubens Barrichello began his day with an aero evaluation, followed by a tyre programme over longer runs in the afternoon session. He completed a total of 96 laps.
Anthony Davidson and James Rossiter will take over from the two race drivers tomorrow for the final day of the test.
Christian Klien and Robert Doornbos were on duty for Red Bull, the Austrian causing a red-flag at lunchtime when he stopped on-track following a mechanical failure.
Propping up the timesheets was Neel Jani, in the Toro Rosso, the Swiss driver learning today that he will replace (the injured) Nicolas Lapierre in next week's GP2 race at Silverstone.