|
SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO :
TESTING SCHEDULE
Rubens Barrichello was in Mugello Friday shooting an
advertisement and will be back there on Monday for testing.
Both he and Schumacher will be at Barcelona from 29 January to
1 February testing electronics and tires. Bridgestone is
currently involved in a large development program with new
tires incorporating new compounds and constructions. The new
car is nearly ready and will be launched on 6 February in the
brand new factory which will be used to assemble engines for
both Maserati and Ferrari production cars. Already 300
journalists and 50 photographers are planning to attend. In
Valencia last week, while Luciano Burti and Luca Badoer
continued tests with development parts including the new
gearbox, using the F2001, Schumacher carried out tire testing
for Bridgestone. He was twice fastest of the day, only pipped
on the final day by Barrichello on 1m 12.498s - less than
0.1sec ahead of Michael. It was the first time Schumacher had
driven in Vanecia and he seemed to like it. He was very
pleased with the development of the Bridgestone tires as well.
"I can feel substantial improvements from the new tire
generation", he said.
WEST McLAREN MERCEDES : FIRST RUN FOR NEW CAR
Alexander Wurz gave the new McLaren Mercedes MP4/17 its first
public appearance after its launch at Barcelona last Saturday,
the Austrian reporting that his initial reaction was that the
car had "improved low speed mechanical grip" as compared with
its predecessor. David Coulthard took over the car on Sunday
and Monday, reporting that he was pleased with his first
impressions, while Wurz and Kimi Raikkonen continued tire and
component testing with the interim MP4/16Bs. On Tuesday Wurz
got down to a 1m 18.194s in the interim car ahead of
Coulthard's 1m 19.280s in the MP4/17 while Raikkonen took over
the new car on Wednesday, leaving Coulthard to complete 86
laps in the MP4/16B for a best of 1m 18.236s. Raikkonen
managed 58 laps in the MP4/17 despite a minor unspecified
technical problem during the morning which prevented him from
running as much as he wanted. On Thursday Wurz managed a 1m
18.897s with Raikkonen turning a 1m 19.494s.
BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM : NEW CAR FOLLOWS SEVEN DAY TEST
The new Williams-BMW FW24 was scheduled for its official
unveiling Friday at Silverstone where it is the intention that
it should complete a handful of shakedown laps in front of the
Television cameras before being dispatched to Barcelona for
its first major test. Friday the team's test drivers Antonio
Pizzonia and Marc Gene will resume testing at the Circuit de
Catalunya with two interim FW23 development cars, last year's
chassis fitted with the 2002 engine and gearbox. They will be
joined by Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya on Sunday and
will test through until Friday 1 February. Last Sunday the
team completed an intensive seven day test at Valencia with
the interim cars and one of last year's FW23s. The main
priority was to complete more running with the latest BMW P82
engine and assessing the power-train development as well as
trying the latest Michelin rubber in a variety of condition.
Commented Chief Operations Engineer Sam Michael: "It's really
been an intensive program which is set to continue in
Barcelona next week." Ralf Schumacher set the third fastest
time of the whole test week at Valencia on 1m 12.773s,
concentrating on Michelin tire tests in the 2001 car. Gene and
Pizzonia drove the interim chassis, both doing a successful
long run on the final day. Gene managed 106 laps and Pizzonia
82 laps, the young Brazilian managing a 1m 13.387s sixth
fastest. BMW Sports Director Gerhard Berger said; "It is
incredible how much data you collect with a big test with
three cars. As far as our new engine is concerned we are very
happy. There are small problems, but we know where they are
and already have solutions in preparation".
SAUBER PETRONAS : HAPPY WITH C21 TEST
After the trouble-free roll-out at Fiorano, the Sauber
Petronas team had another three smooth days of testing with
the new C21 at Barcelona. This was chassis C21/02 which went
to Spain as chassis 01 had been used to successfully complete
all the mandatory crash tests, both at Milan and at the team's
Hinwill factory. Nick Heidfeld ran the first two days at
Barcelona, completing 52 laps on Monday and 54 on Tuesday. "It
is almost frightening that nothing is happening", he joked
after expressing himself very satisfied with the reliability
and performance of the new car. Heidfeld was only 0.2sec
behind Coulthard on Monday and on Tuesday was within 0.1sec of
the McLaren on 1m 19.290s. "The new car is better in every
aspect, much more agile and easier to drive", he added. On
Wednesday Felipe Massa got his first drive in the new Sauber,
losing some time to a gearbox failure which occurred after he
had a mix-up with the launch control starting procedure. Massa
managed a 1m 20.376s after 51 laps, only 0.1sec away from
Raikkonen in the new McLaren. The team will return to
Barcelona next week. The new Sauber C21 was due to have its
official launch in Switzerland Friday.
|
Jordan
Honda EJ12 |
JORDAN HONDA : NEW CAR GETS
SILVERSTONE SHAKEDOWN
The first of the new Jordan-Honda EJ-12s had its first run at
Silverstone on Tuesday in the hands of Takuma Sato on the
South Circuit at the start of a three day test program. This
is an entirely new design based on its predecessor, the EJ-11.
Its new carbon-fiber monocoque is complimented by a new
aerodynamic package which includes a swooping nose section,
whilst the all-new Honda RA200E engine is mated to a revised
seven-speed Jordan transmission. On Wednesday Sato was joined
by Giancarlo Fisichella, the Italian taking over the EJ-11 to
continue engine mapping for Honda and assessing various
cooling configurations. Fisichella managed a 1m 38.37s in the
new car with Sato trying one of the old EJ-11s, although the
session was brought to an end prematurely due to deteriorating
weather conditions and heavy rain.
LUCKY STRIKE BAR HONDA : FOUR GOOD DAYS IN VALENCIA
The BAR-Honda team completed a productive four day test at
Valencia which ended last Sunday. Jacques Villeneuve and
Olivier Panis took to the track in their new BAR 004s
alongside test drivers Anthony Davidson and Ryo Fukuda, who
joined the test for two days each. It was Fukuda's first test
for the team which was clearly impressed by his debut
performance. The test focused on tire testing, chassis set-up
and brake development work and the team is optimistic as it
heads back to Spain for the next test at Barcelona on 28
January. Chief Engineer Steve Farrell said; "We've had another
good test so we are feeling cautiously optimistic about the
progress we've made since the first test in Barcelona".
MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM : NEW CAR LAUNCH IN PARIS
The new Renault RS02 will be officially unveiled on Sunday at
the team's Guyancourt headquarters after which it will be
flown down to Barcelona in order for testing to start on
Monday with Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button. The team will also
have a Benetton B201 chassis for test work. The team's
schedule is to test all week at Barcelona followed by Monday
to Thursday the following week at Valencia. Then it is back to
Barcelona the following week and a final three-day shakedown
of all three new RS02s at Silverstone from 18-20 February.
JAGUAR RACING : SUSPENSION CHANGES FOR R3
The Jaguar Formula One team took the second of its new R3s to
the Lurcy Levis aerodrome circuit in France for straight line
tests with Andrea Lotterer at the wheel in a bid to gather
more data to improve the performance of the new car's front
wing. The team will continue testing at Barcelona Friday with
the original R3 chassis which has been fitted with some
revised suspension components to rectify a flexing problem
which has also been identified. "We are hoping to make a big
step forward", said team principal Niki Lauda who will be
attending the first two days of Jaguar's latest Barcelona
test.
PROST GRAND PRIX : FINAL DECISION ON MONDAY
The commercial court at Versailles met yesterday afternoon to
make its final decision concerning the future of Prost Grand
Prix. If the ultimate offer, coming from a foreign country, is
accepted, the team will be able to carry on. However, if this
offer is not considered to be acceptable, the team will have
to cease all its activities. The court should make its
announcement on Monday.
ORANGE ARROWS : NEW CAR READY NEXT WEEK
The first of the new Arrows-Cosworth's will be ready for a
preliminary shakedown driven by Enrique Bernoldi at a United
Kingdom circuit towards the end of next week. The car will
then go to the following week's Valencia test, but there is no
news yet as to when it will be formally unveiled or the
identity of the team's other driver.
KL MINARDI ASIATECH : TWO SUCCESSFUL DAYS AT MISANO
The KL Minardi team tested for two days in Misano-Adriatico
with two cars driven by Alex Yoong and Mark Webber. They were
trying components for the new car which should be ready for a
shakedown on 1 February. It will then test at Valencia from 4
February. The dynamic crash test was passed on Wednesday in
Milan, and the static one on Thursday in Faenza, both
successfully. Team principal Paul Stoddart was in Kuala Lumpur
last Sunday to launch the new colors of the team and on his
return he is expected to nominate the second driver. It seems
that Webber made a good impression.
PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING : BARCELONA NEXT WEEK
After a successful first Barcelona test the Toyota team was
back at its Paul Ricard base this week for more private
testing before it was due back at the Circuit de Catalunya
next week with both Mika Salo and Allan McNish when a second
2002 chassis is expected to be ready. The test from 22-24
January at Paul Ricard saw McNish driving all three days in
stormy conditions on all three days, with some torrential rain
and strong winds. "I have been pleased with the test from two
sides", said McNish. "Firstly we have made some progress with
the car and I did some consistent running in wet and dry
conditions - the first time I have done that with the new
car".
--FIA--
Go to
our forums
to discuss this article
|
Enrique Bernoldi
