25/01/2006
NEWS STORY
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Felipe Massa topped the timesheets at Barcelona today, as Renault, Toro Rosso, Toyota and Honda, joined in the fun.
On a day when all thirteen drivers were running with V8s, the Brazilian, at the wheel of a 2004 Ferrari, posted a best time 0.536s quicker than his nearest rival, Fernando Alonso. The Brazilian carried out an engine development programme, in collaboration with Shell and also worked on Bridgestone tyres.
In the early afternoon a Ferrari transporter arrived from Italy, inside, the new 248 F1, which Michael Schumacher is to run tomorrow (Thursday).
Renault began three days of testing at the Spanish track, with Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella in action, both at the wheel of the new R26 chassis.
The day got off to a slow start owing to very cold track temperatures during the early morning. This made running impossible as the tyres were not generating sufficient temperature. Both drivers were able to begin their programmes at around 11am, and then worked without major incident throughout the day. The focus for today's testing was primarily on continuing to put mileage on the new chassis and RS26 V8 engine. In addition to this base-line work, both drivers conducted tyre development for Michelin, completing medium distance (less than 10 laps) runs.
Fernando and Giancarlo finished the day second and fourth respectively on the timesheets. They completed 178 laps, a total of 824 km.
"I did 94 laps today, which is very good for a new car," said the Spaniard. "The important thing for this early stage is that we had no mechanical problems, so I am quite happy with our results so far. I was still experimenting a bit today because this is the first time I have driven at Barcelona with the V8, so you need some time to get used to the different driving style. The car is easy to drive here as well, and my feeling so far is very good."
"We had a good day, with lots of laps and no big problems," added his teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella. "The main job today was working on tyres and we completed a big programme with Michelin. Overall, it was a good day for us."
"This was a very good opening day of our test," said Christian Silk. "The programme got off to a slow start, but once the circuit had warmed up properly, we were able to run a big programme. The main focus of the day was tyre development, and we got some excellent results for Michelin from our work on compounds and constructions. We will be hoping to continue in a similar fashion tomorrow."
Splitting the two French cars was Jenson Button, in the brand new Honda RA106. Although over a second down on Massa, Button was just 0.4s down on Alonso. Furthermore, the Englishman had a trouble-free day, completing 72 laps, though the day was somewhat marred by a technical failure for teammate Barrichello.
In the morning, Rubens completed a series of acclimatisation runs to get a basic feel for the new car and its characteristics. He continued to work on the general set-up of the car throughout the day completing a total of 52 laps.
In the second chassis, Jenson also completed two runs getting used to the car. Once happy with the balance he ran through a tyre evaluation during the afternoon session.
Rubens and Jenson will continue the RA106 testing programme in their respective chassis tomorrow.
"It's been a very encouraging start," said Geoff Willias. "We began the day with two RA106s pulling out of the garage, which is an incredible achievement for us. The cars performed well; it was pretty cold in the morning which limited our running however we did a good number of laps throughout the day with no problems and some competitive times. We've got plenty of work to do over the next few weeks but it's been a positive first day."
"Jenson and I were able to do similar times," added Barrichello, "which is really pleasing. The engineers have been telling us this is a better car on paper but it's always good to confirm their readings from the driving seat."
"It's been a good first day with the RA106," said Button. "I'm happy with the way the car feels and it's definitely a step forward from last year, we just don't know how much yet. I'm now looking forward to tomorrow when we can get started on some proper testing."
Nick Heidfeld was on duty for BMW, as was test driver, Robert Kubica.
The Pole, driving the Sauber C24B, concentrated on getting used to "all systems" and evaluating various set-ups. Heidfeld, at the wheel of the F1.06 also worked on set-ups in addition to trying aerodynamic evaluations
Toyota had Jarno Trulli and Olivier Panis on duty, both drivers finishing over 1.4s off Massa's pace.
"It was a very good day in general," said the Italian. "We concentrated on tyre testing and set-up work and made strong progress after an early delay due to fog. The reliability looks strong and I also did quite a sensible lap time. Bridgestone has definitely made a good step forward with tyre consistency. They are really working hard and every time we come to the track they bring new specifications that are better suited to our car. We are definitely moving ahead well."
"It was a very productive day with both cars doing a lot of laps and running reliably," added Mike Gascoyne. "Both drivers were concentrating on Bridgestone tyre work, running a mixture of casing and compound tests. We managed to get through all the work, both drivers are very happy with the car and there are some very clear tyre directions to work on."
Juan Pablo Montoya was at the wheel for his second day in the new car, the Colombian putting in a number longer stints after midday, having initially restricted himself to completing a series of systems checks on short runs.
Gary Paffett worked alongside Juan Pablo in the interim MP4-20. The Englishman's day started in earnest just before midday and he was able to cover just over 300 km, finishing twelfth fastest.
Kimi Raikkonen will be in Barcelona tomorrow to take over driving duties of the MP4-21 from Juan Pablo, which will be the Finn's first run in the car. He will be joined by Pedro de la Rosa in the MP4-20.
David Coulthard was at the controls of the Red Bull, and as the session came to an end, Technical Director Mark Smith felt the day had produced signs of "encouraging progress", despite continued problems with overheating, which the team is attempting to alleviate with all manner of 'holes' and 'vents'.
"We began by running some engine mapping tests," he continued. "The bulk of the day's workload was given over to evaluating aero development parts. We also ran some different types of tyre, but the need for consistency for the aero work meant we did not run an actual tyre test programme."
Scott Speed was at the wheel as Scuderia Toro Rosso began a two day test programme. It was the team's first test of 2006 at this circuit and it proved to be a productive one with the American driver, who celebrated his twenty third birthday yesterday, reeling off a comfortable 86 laps and setting a competitive time.
Work centred on set-up, as Speed and his engineers concentrated on an aero programme, assessing different ride heights and front and rear wing settings, on their way to finding a satisfactory balance for the car.
"Apart from being happy with the work we got through today, I am also pleased with Scott's performance, as it is clear that he has really stepped up his fitness levels in recent weeks," commented Team Manager, Massimo Rivola. "It was also encouraging to see how the team is shaping up. We have plenty of new young guys, 'the Young Toros' as we call them, who are new to the team and it was obvious that they are really motivated to do a good job."
Tomorrow, Tonio Liuzzi takes over at the wheel.
Weather
Air temperature: 5-14 C
Track temperature: 4-15 C.
Sunny
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