Rosberg quickest on final day at Jerez

20/01/2006

WilliamsF1's Nico Rosberg topped the timesheets on the final day of testing at Jerez, a day when thick fog meant that track-time was seriously reduced, for safety reasons.

Just two teams - WilliamsF1 and Honda - were on duty, as the second week of testing at the second track came to an end.

"Today was the last day before we run the FW28 in Valencia, after the launch," said Sam Michael. "Although the circuit was closed this morning due to the fog, we managed to have a productive afternoon, testing various tyre options with Bridgestone to further improve our understanding of the compound and construction requirements.

"Our Bridgestone engineers have responded exceptionally well to the direction taken from the November and December tests and we are seeing the results of that already. We also verified several new mechanical components for reliability."

"We experienced no significant engine problems on the CA2006 this week," added Simon Corbyn of Cosworth. "We were able to continue with the validation of updated engine components, while we also made good progress refining engine control strategies.

"Back in Northampton, we are flat out preparing engines for the new FW28," he added. "Engineering progress and dyno test results continue to be good and we will deliver a further engine performance gain when the CA2006 is installed in the new chassis."

Sandwiched between to the two williamsF1s were the two Hondas of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button.

Having lost the morning, both drivers went out to complete comprehensive tyre programmes. The Brazilian completed 102 laps, while his English teammate completed an impressive 120 laps.

"Even though we started quite late today, we have still been able to do many laps this afternoon and have seen some good results," said Barrichello. "I hope that my input helps the team continue this development and progress further when we have the new car available next week."

With the new car set to make its track debut on Wednesday, today was the last day of testing for the 'concept' car.

"We have completed over 2700km with the concept car which has again proven to be extremely reliable," said chief test engineer, Mark Ellis. "We have been able to identify the limits of several components which will prove invaluable in ensuring our continued strong reliability."

Weather
Air temperature: 16 C
Track temperature: 12 C.
Early fog, clear in the afternoon