14/05/2008
NEWS STORY
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was the pace setter at Paul Ricard today, as all ten remaining teams began their preparations fro the forthcoming Monaco GP.
Despite completing less laps than any of the other drivers on duty, the Englishman was the only driver to dip into the 1:05s on the 2.232 mile 2D SC Short configuration.
Hamilton, who will be replaced by Heikki Kovalainen tomorrow, focused on set-up development, tyre testing and evaluation of the Monaco-specific aero package.
Second quickest, and almost 0.5s off Hamilton's pace, was Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn also working on finding the best set-up for next week's race and on the development of new aerodynamic components. At the closer of the session, the Italian team re-introduced the much talked about new nose, which is scheduled to be used next week after being dropped for Turkey.
BMW, who could well spring a surprise in Monaco, had Robert Kubica on duty, the Pole concentrating on setup work for Monaco. The team tried different solutions to fine tune the car's aerodynamics, suspension and engine electronics for the slow and bumpy track.
In the morning session Kubica suffered an oil leak, but after a precautionary engine change he continued the test as scheduled, completing 124 laps.
Mark Webber was on duty for Red Bull, who will have David Coulthard in action tomorrow and Sebastien Buemi on the final day.
The Australian had a trouble free day, running with high Monaco downforce levels, evaluating some new aero components, as well as working on mechanical set up. He also tried both types of tyre that Bridgestone will take to Monaco - the 'soft' and 'super-soft' even though Ricard normally demands a harder tyre.
The other difference between the 'real' Monaco track and the Ricard simulation is that the Ricard surface, unlike the city streets of Monte Carlo, is very smooth.
Tomorrow, when Coulthard continues with the Monaco programme, it is thought the session might be affected by rain showers.
Sebastian Vettel finally got his hands on the new Toro Rosso STR3 today, after it was badly damaged - on its debut - by Sebastien Bourdais.
There were a few teething problems that restricted running in the morning, including a faulty timing transponder, which is why the correct number of laps is 99 and not 91 as reported in other news sources.
Vettel ran through all the standard new car checks: set-up, functionality, car balance, performance as well as trying both types of tyre, that will be available in Monaco.
Despite the fact that these tyres are really a bit on the soft side for the smoother but more abrasive Ricard track, Vettel was happy with the balance of the car. Tomorrow, Bourdais takes over.
Williams debuted a 'dorsal fin' similar to that used by both Red Bull and Renault, as Nico Rosberg completed 154 laps - more than any other driver - on his way to posting the sixth best time of the day.
Alex Wurz was on duty for Honda, the Austrian's programme being to complete an aerodynamic evaluation in preparation for Monaco. He completed 142 laps as the team worked through various set-ups changes in preparation for tackling the unique demands of the legendary track.
At Toyota, Timo Glock was in action trying out different set-ups and aerodynamic configurations, as well as getting to grips with the Monaco-specification tyres.
"The morning session was reasonable and then in the afternoon the track conditions improved quite a lot," said the German. It was a normal test day making Monaco preparations with the only problem being some big changes we made over the lunch break which took a bit longer than expected and cost us some track time. It was the first time I have run the car in such high-downforce configuration. I was quite happy with it but we still need to work a little to improve the traction. Overall though, the car felt pretty good."
"It was straightforward Monaco work trying to establish a baseline," added Test Team Manager, Gerd Pfeiffer. "We did some comparison runs in different aerodynamic specifications, trying different wings. There was also background work to be done with such things as launch systems and, of course, running the softer specification Monaco tyres, which are quite different from the hard and medium compounds which have been raced in Barcelona and Istanbul. While you cannot simulate Monaco grip levels and wind direction, you can prepare for the tight chicanes and hairpins you find there."
Force India's test and reserve driver Vitantonio Liuzzi today opened the team's schedule, the Italian working through a programme to establish a baseline set-up for the remaining two days of the test and also testing the team's 'Monaco spec' aero developments, a high-downforce package designed for the challenges of the twisty street circuit race.
Adrian Sutil will take over from Liuzzi tomorrow morning, before handing the wheel to Giancarlo Fisichella in the afternoon. The duo will spend the day on the Monaco-esque configuration of the track to test the Monte Carlo aero package before spending Friday on the longer version of the track preparing for the Canadian Grand Prix.
"We did more than 100 laps with no reliability problems today," said Liuzzi, "which let us test some new development items for Monaco, including some of the new aero parts, and some new updates to the suspension. We had to work on the balance a bit at first to adjust to the new items, but over the longer runs it was very consistent and we could make some steps forward. As we only used the hard tyre today the lap times were pretty good in comparison to the other teams who used the soft tyre, which gives a big performance advantage over the harder compound. I think today was quite a good start for the test."
"Today's programme was to evaluate a complete new front suspension for the VJM01, and to validate the package of aerodynamic changes that will be raced in Monaco next week," added Chief Race and Test Engineer, Dominic Harlow. "During a busy day the team also worked on some ongoing development items in other mechanical areas of the car. The circuit was initially a little green, but the weather conditions have not been too bad with mild temperatures, a fairly light wind and slowly the grip improved during the day. We continue tomorrow on the same circuit with both race drivers planning to devote most of their track time to prepare for the Monaco Grand-Prix."
Lucas Di Grassi was on duty for Renault, the Brazilian completing 146 laps as he evaluated some development pieces that the team hopes to introduce in the coming races. Nelson Piquet will be in action tomorrow, taking over from Lucas and will remain in the car for the rest of the week.
"Today we were preparing the car for the race in Monaco next week," said di Grassi, "and so we needed to test some new parts to make sure that everything was okay. The day was quite productive and we tested most of what we needed to, and I was happy to be back in the car and to complete so many laps. So a good day's work."
"It was a reasonable first day of running," added Christian Silk, "with good mileage and so we were able to complete quite a lot of our test objectives. We did so much running because the weather forecast for the rest of the week is a bit uncertain, and so if the weather does deteriorate we've got as much work done as possible. It was also important to give Lucas a good number of laps in the car, which is what he needs at the moment."