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SCUDERIA FERRARI
MARLBORO: ACCIDENTS FOR SCHUMACHER AND BARRICHELLO
After being clearly the fastest contenders during this week's
Barcelona tests, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello
both crashed their Ferrari F2001s heavily within an hour of
each other at around lunchtime on Wednesday. Neither of the
badly damaged cars could be repaired at the circuit, so
Ferrari packed up and returned to base. Michael lost control
between corners 11 and 12 at around 240kph. He said; "It was
completely my fault. I got onto the grass and simply couldn't
catch the car anymore." It was the same story at corner nine
where Barrichello spun off. Both drivers escaped without
injury. Just before his off, the Brazilian had set a time of
1m 18.112s, 0.4sec faster than Michael who ended up on 1m
18.565s. Both were testing new tires and Michael did a race
distance on Tuesday, driving 105 laps for a fastest overall of
1m 18.470s. On Thursday Michael flew to Mugello to take over
testing work from Luca Badoer who had been trying experimental
parts with another F2001 and was now suffering with flu.
Badoer did 41 laps for a best time of 1m 22.870s. Schumacher
settled down to manage a 1m 22.6s at Mugello while the factory
checked over the damaged cars from Barcelona and found no
mechanical defect. Next Monday Barrichello will be running in
Mugello and will be joined on Tuesday by Badoer if he is fit
enough. On Wednesday both regular drivers will attend the
launch of the new car and so the two test drivers will be at
Mugello, while Schumacher and Barrichello take over again on
Thursday. On Friday Schumacher will run in Mugello and Badoer
in Fiorano, all with the F2001 as the testing schedule for the
new car has not yet been finalized.
WEST McLAREN MERCEDES : TESTING AT VALENCIA
While most of the teams were at Barcelona, the
McLaren-Mercedes squad continued its intensive program of
development work with the new MP4/17 at Valencia where David
Coulthard started a program on Tuesday, supported by Kimi
Raikkonen in the MP4/16B test car. Raikkon concentrated on a
Michelin tire development program with the test car while
Coulthard carried out further engine and chassis development
work in the MP4/17. By Wednesday night Coulthard had got down
to 1m 11.58s in the new car with Raikkonen, who was doing
shorter runs with lighter fuel loads, down to 1m 11.7s.
Coulthard unfortunately had to pull out of the test with a
heavy cold on Wednesday evening and Alexander Wurz went out to
continue the test which ended on Thursday with wet weather
testing on an artificially flooded track. "All the team's
drivers and engineers are pleased with the performance of the
new car so far," commented McLaren Managing Director Martin
Whitmarsh. "We have been working hard assessing different
set-ups and coming to grips with the Michelin tire
characteristics."
BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM : SCHUMACHER STARTS WITH FW24
After a few laps in the rain at Silverstone, the BMW Williams
team sent the new FW24 down to Barcelona where Ralf Schumacher
started a long test program last Sunday with 59 trouble-free
lap. With a best time of 1m 19.238s he immediately matched the
test times of the old FW23C which was driven that day by
Antonio Pizzonia. March Gene did a 1m 18.918s in the interim
test car with the new BMW P82 engine and on Monday Schumacher
was fastest on 1m 19.280s after 53 laps. Tuesday was reserved
for pit stop practice which was interrupted by a broken
gearbox. Juan Pablo Montoya was in the new car on Wednesday
and Thursday, leaving Schumacher to complete tire testing in
the old FW23, producing a best of 1m 19.266s while Montoya
managed 1m 20.344s. His program was reduced to 27 laps due to
driveshaft problems and this car was taken over by Pizzonia on
Thursday. Gene drove most of the time in the FW23C and was the
fastest Williams driver on Thursday with 1m 19.233s, 0.4sec
ahead of Montoya who did a 19.680s.
SAUBER PETRONAS : GOING WELL IN SPAIN
The Sauber Petronas team started another three day test in
Barcelona on Tuesday with two new C21s, the Swiss team again
surprising everybody with their speed and reliability. On the
first day Nick Heidfeld was the only driver to match the two
Ferraris in the 1m 18s bracket, posting a 1m 18.817s after 96
laps, third fastest on the day. Felipe Massa, who was trying
to get used to stopping in precisely the right place for his
refuelling stop, ended up with 1m 19.513s after 75 laps. On
Wednesday Heidfeld improved and was again third fastest on the
day with 1m 18.749s, again suffering no technical problems.
Massa covered 82 laps for a best of 1m 20.370s. On Thursday
the team ran light fuel loads and managed a 1m 17.891s which
was close to what Kimi Raikkonen managed the previous week in
the new McLaren. "The car has much more grip than the C20 and
it is so stable," said Heidfeld. "I am very optimistic for the
season." The only problem was a scheduled driveshaft change on
Thursday while Massa was delayed with a minor hydraulic
problem, but nothing else. "Not even a screw fell off," said
Peter Sauber. Technical director Willy Rampf commented; "Nick
had to do tire testing for Bridgestone, whereas Massa was on a
race distance during Wednesday and in qualifying trim on
Thursday." In the race simulation Massa's times were very
consistent. At the team's Hinwil base the third C21 has been
completed. Sauber tests next in Valencia next week.
JORDAN HONDA : FOUR DAYS IN BARCELONA
The Jordan-Honda squad started its four day Barcelona test
with Takuma Sato and the 19-year old German Marcel Lasee
starting the program. Sato covered 46 laps with the new EJ-12
carrying out systems checks and general set-up work, while
Lasee ran the EJ-11 for 44 laps. Commenting on his first drive
in an Formula One car he said; "The power, brakes and
downforce are just unbelievable and it was exciting to be
driving on the same circuit on the same time as Michael and
Ralf Schumacher." Sato's best on the first day was 1m 22.59s
with Lasee just 0.4sec slower. On Wednesday Sato spent the day
working on set-up and driver comfort in the EJ-12 while also
testing cooling and oil systems on the new car, his best time
being 1m 22.04s. Lasee ran for 39 laps(best 1m 20.37s) before
Giancarlo Fisichella took over the EJ-11 in the afternoon, the
Italian testing development brakes and front suspension
geometry for a best of 1m 20.10s.
LUCKY STRIKE BAR HONDA : POSITIVE THIRD TEST IN BARCELONA
The BAR-Honda team has returned to its base after a very
positive third test with the 004 at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Olivier Panis started the program on Monday and Jacques
Villeneuve took over on Tuesday, but the team encountered an
(unspecified) mechanical problem and lost quite a bit of track
time. During these two days Anthony Davidson was running a BAR
003 which Panis took over for tire testing on Wednesday as
Villeneuve was assessing aerodynamic options for the
Australian GP. Engineering Director Malcolm Oastler said; "We
had a very busy program in Barcelona, but this allowed us to
increase our understanding of the new car and put plenty of
miles on the chassis and engine. We expect to have the full
Melbourne specification fitted to our car for a five day test
from February 5-10 in Valencia."
MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM : PROMISING START FOR R202
The new Renault R202 began testing this week at Barcelona
following its launch in Paris on Sunday with Jenson Button
getting down to a 1m 20.090s on Tuesday, just 0.001sec slower
than Jarno Trulli managed while tire testing with last year's
B201 challenger. "Unfortunately an engine leak meant Jenson
lost the moring while the unit was changed," said Technical
Director Mike Gascoyne, "but he ran in the afternoon and made
good progress with the set-up of the car."On Wednesday Button
managed a 1m 20.814s, concentrating on long runs and running
the engine up to its maximum mileage before a scheduled
change. Trulli continued his Michelin development work and got
down to 1m 20.668s. Sato managed a 1m 20.351s on Thursday with
Fisichella on 1m 21.091s. Trulli did a 1m 20.834s on Thursday
while Fernando Alonso took over from Button in the B201 and
posted a 1m 21.440s.
JAGUAR RACING : MORE DEVELOPMENT WORK
The Jaguar team carried out more chassis development and
aerodynamic work following last week's intensive aerodynamic
assessment at Lurcy Levis where Andrea Lotterer ran both an R2
and an R3. The team then went straight to Barcelona from last
Friday until this Monday, progressively incorporating more
aerodynamic and rear suspension modifications into the R3 and
started testing again at Barcelona today (Friday) with Eddie
Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa.
"We feel we are really making progress on the aerodynamic
package," said a team spokesman, "and of course we have a
brand new floor in the pipeline which will first be tested in
the Silverstone shakedown prior to Melbourne."
PROST GRAND PRIX : IT'S ALL OVER
The Commercial court in Versailles put an end to Prost Grand
Prix last Monday. According to the law, a delay of a fortnight
has been given for the staff to prepare the assets for sale.
Some 197 people are still looking for new jobs.
ORANGE ARROWS : NEW A23 READY TO TEST
Enrique Bernoldi is scheduled to shakedown the first of the
new Arrows-Cosworth A23s at an undisclosed venue on Monday
prior to the car being rushed down to Valencia where it will
start serious tests on Wednesday. There is still no news as to
who will partner Bernoldi, but an announcement is expected
soon. The team is also working hard on the second A23 in
preparation for the start of the season.
KL MINARDI ASIATECH : IMOLA SHAKEDOWN PLANNED
If everything goes smoothly, Minardi will shake down its new
Asiatech-engined car today (Friday) at Imola with both Alex
Yoong and Mark Webber on hand, after which the car will go on
to Valencia for serious tests. It will be painted black as the
new livery will be disclosed in Kuala Lumpur where one of the
cars will stop off on the way to Melbourne. John Walton,
former team manager of Prost Grand Prix, has joined Minardi.
PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING : TWO CAR TEST
The Toyota team started its test program with two TF102s at
Barcelona on Monday with Mika Salo managing 58 laps for a 1m
20.782s best and Allan McNish covering 77 laps with a fastest
of 1m 21.271s. On Tuesday Salo only managed a 1m 21.358s after
losing time with a gearbox-related problem which took the team
some time to understand. McNish also managed only 1m 21.684s.
On Wednesday Salo carried out different brake comparisons in
preparation for Melbourne, posting a 1m 21.682s while McNish
did a 1m 22.890s. "We did a reasonable number of laps today,"
said the Scot. "I did a few aerodynamic tests, which improved
the car slightly and we will continue with that tomorrow."
Salo managed a 1m 20.245s on Thursday with McNish on 1m
19.831s.
--FIA--
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Enrique Bernoldi
